A few years ago, I talked to a venture capitalist who was upbeat on the prospects of blogging. In fact, he mentioned that his firm recently invested in a political blog called The Huffington Post. He expected a surge with the upcoming presidential election. I asked: But what about after that? Well, he said that the momentum could provide a foundation for building out new verticals.
Of course, he was right and The Huffington Post indeed looks poised for continued success. This week, the website announced it has raised $25 million. The lead investor: Oak Investment Partners.
With the deterioration in traditional media – especially newspapers – there are certainly many opportunities for New Media alternatives. However, the tough part is coming up with the right model.
As for the Huffington Post, its approach is to leverage the knowledge of the online community (although, there are still many top-brand bloggers on the site). There is also permissive use of linking to other articles across the web.
Now, with its infusion of capital, the Huffington Post will expand local coverage, which could be risky. Then again, as seen with its metrics – traffic has quadrupled to 4.5 milion unique visitors per month over the past year – the site does understand the power of New Media and has a good chance of becoming an enduring brand for the long haul.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook
and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market
. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.
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