Skip to content

On my Om

On Technology & Change

  • Journal
  • Essays
  • Interviews
  • About
  • Newsletter
  • Search

I have some thoughts on Vox Media — most of them in the native video efforts. Vox like many of its peers took a big bet on Facebook Video efforts and essentially ended up finding out that when it comes to Facebook, it is the house and the house always wins.

  • Startups, not old stodgy companies, try new things. That’s what makes them interesting. They sometimes succeed. But they fail more often. And that’s okay. I think it is the right approach for every company – risks lead to big rewards.
  • What does not work, however, is to be dependent on others (such as Facebook and Twitter) to carry their water.
  • They layoffs are yet another reminder of why companies shouldn’t trust Facebook and its chimera-like promises of cheap traffic and users. It didn’t work for gaming companies, music companies and it hasn’t worked for news companies.
  • I wouldn’t fault Jim Bankoff and others for trying to ride the Facebook rocket. They need growth. They need new sources of revenue. They need them because they need to keep growing to keep getting either the venture capital dollars or entice an ultimate buyer like Comcast.
  • Vox isn’t the only one with challenges. Buzzfeed and Vice have missed their numbers and are finding that after a growth surge, reality is the ultimate glass ceiling.
  • Media (Magazines, Papers, Television, Radio, and Movies) are fighting for attention with other services that suck up attention and are on a declining scale of getting that attention. The 20th century model of industrial media — Buzzfeed, Vox, and Vice are just that — is going to lose to other informal sources.
  • However if I was to bet on who will most likely to take risks and find the path forward, it will be Vox and Buzzfeed. I don’t see any of the legacy media brands are bold enough to make audacious bets.

Letter from Om

A (nearly) bi-weekly dispatch about tech & future.

You will get my reporting, analysis, conversations, and curation of the essential information you need to make sense of the present future.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

My blog has an RSS feed. I am on Twitter @Om

***

Related Posts

  • 5 things to read this weekend
  • How Google can really help news & media
  • Why is Mike Hudack so mad at media?

Om Malik

Om Malik is a San Francisco based writer, photographer and investor. More....

Post navigation

Previous Previous post: Should Spotify buy Sonos
Next Next post: Why Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti Loves & Hates Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • RSS Feed
Powered by WordPress | Hosted by Pressable

Letter from Om

A (nearly) bi-weekly dispatch about tech & future.

You will get my reporting, analysis, conversations, and curation of the essential information you need to make sense of the present future.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

 Twitter
 Email