Now that AOL and Tim Armstrong have bought HuffPo for a reported $351 million, does that mean they are going to go out and try to acquire BlogHer–say for $75-125 million–next?
It sure would make sense to me, if I was Ariana Huffington or Tim Armstrong.
First of all, BlogHer fits Armstrong’s model of running a series of great niche sites–and while AOL and HuffPot are good on news and gossip, they don’t have a smart Mom’s network, per se, which is one place where BlogHer has taken control of the 25-60 female audience. In addition, Huffington has been a speaker at more than one BlogHer conference, and there’s a clear harmony between the brilliant Lisa Stone (my friend) and the brainy Huffington.
But most of all, an attempt to acquire BlogHer would be good business. If Armstrong and AOL want to acquire not only great brands but strong teams, they can’t do better–and BlogHer has an ability to connect with its community that brand marketers all over the world want to emulate.
Will BlogHer be the next acquisition in the AOL crown? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if talks happened.
Disclaimer: This post is totally based on my own conjecture. I am a former AOL VP and a long-time BlogHer contributing editor, and it just looks like BlogHer fits the AOL portfolio model. Jes saying.
Now that AOL and Tim Armstrong have bought HuffPo for a reported $351 million, does that mean they are going to go out and try to acquire BlogHer–say for $75-125 million–next?
It sure would make sense to me, if I was Ariana Huffington or Tim Armstrong.
First of all, BlogHer fits Armstrong’s model of running a series of great niche sites–and while AOL and HuffPot are good on news and gossip, they don’t have a smart Mom’s network, per se, which is one place where BlogHer has taken control of the 25-60 female audience. In addition, Huffington has been a speaker at more than one BlogHer conference, and there’s a clear harmony between the brilliant Lisa Stone (my friend) and the brainy Huffington.
But most of all, an attempt to acquire BlogHer would be good business. If Armstrong and AOL want to acquire not only great brands but strong teams, they can’t do better–and BlogHer has an ability to connect with its community that brand marketers all over the world want to emulate.
Will BlogHer be the next acquisition in the AOL crown? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if talks happened.
Disclaimer: This post is totally based on my own conjecture. I am a former AOL VP and a long-time BlogHer contributing editor, and it just looks like BlogHer fits the AOL portfolio model. Jes saying.