September 2007 Archives

For the last seven weeks, we've been working to bring the best Filipino independent publications together in the network. The process, which has been likened internally to organizing small pox viruses (I like the epidemic metaphor) has been nothing short of amazing. With some publishers traveling, others unable to check email at work, and others living overseas, the carousel of emails, meetups and phone calls have been dizzying -- but very well worth it. No other blog reader out there has had coffee with the publishers we all have. I even got to meet one of your moms!

We've gone ahead, maybe prematurely but certainly in good footing, and held discussions with a handful of media independents, advertising agencies and advertisers. The value proposition is clear to them, as it resonates throughout every member of Mad Crowd Media. Our race to develop creative service offerings (such as co-branded banners) and determining CPM rates has heated up: everyone we spoke to has not only expressed interest, but is keen on using Mad Crowd Media.

Moreso now, I believe, that we've recently revised our monthly impressions estimate: we have just learned that we can easily deliver 8.5 million pageviews a month. That's an astonishing number from a local independent network. That's your number, so you should be proud.

Finally, advertisers are even more impressed at how we've put quality ahead (quality takes in the largest stake in our criteria to determine CPM rates). To them, our balance of quality and quantity (in this case, pageviews) is the perfect platform for their brands. Again, kudos to you for all your hard work in developing great content. We hope that our efforts will reward you soon.

When the New York Times announced that it will stop charging for content, and with strong rumors that the Wall Street Journal will do the same, I had to raise my arms in exaltation: all the David Brooks I can read.

Needless to say, this is also a good sign that advertising revenue on the internet has reached maturity even among the most grey of publications. To us here at Mad Crowd Media, that certainly strengthens the argument that advertising budgets can traverse the expensive and poorly segmented mass media channels and get results from the targeted offerings our network can deliver.

Furthermore, I think it is fodder for all the champions and creators of channel agnostic media planning. New media channels should be on their list, as their target market shifts to these channels. As anecdotal as it seems, the New York Times makes a strong statement for all online publishers: content is best served free. And advertising pays to keep it that way.

We've been loving your submissions on the website: 30+ so far, among them, some are real gems. While we read, discuss and read again, we're finding even more blogs and websites through blogrolls and links. One author, it seems, is another's editor.

The most interesting part of this revelation, while not so new to many, is discovering the "cliques" of bloggers and websites: the link-to-me-i-link-to-you practice tends to herd publishers together in groups, at the core of which are the most popular bloggers, whose popularity soars even further because of the links. These groups are well represented in the Mad Crowd Media network, still we believe that these herds cannot possibly hold all the gems. Quality in publishing must run deeper.

What really makes our day is finding websites that are outside of these spheres and listening posts -- sites which we seldom see in the blogrolls we've read. They're in the sidestreets and back alleys of "our" Internet, and they are just as interesting as the really popular ones. Websites like Eksena.net, which is a portal for headliners and events on the Cebu music scene. That's a destination we would otherwise have never found if we stuck to blogrolls and popularity metrics. Another is From the Boondocks, which blogs about everything that goes on in the Cordillera region.

While there could be hundreds of these fascinating publications, the message that the Filipino writer, from any and all walks of life, has a fertile and articulate mind resonates loud and clear. This is a welcome affirmation. If you're reading this, and you're reading other blogs, go ahead and spend time outside your blogosphere: it's just like making new friends from the other side of town.