Associated Content
Encyclopedia
Associated Content is a division of Yahoo that focuses on online publishing. Yahoo's Associated Content distributes a large variety of writing through its website
and content partners, including Yahoo News.
, with business development offices in New York City
.
In April 2009, Associated Content hired a new CEO, Patrick Keane, formerly of CBS Interactive and Google
and closed a $6 million Series C round of funding from Softbank Capital and Canaan Partners
. Their funding now totals $21.5 million. Three weeks after the funding announcement, Associated Content reorganized and laid off 5 employees.
On May 19, 2010, Yahoo announced that it would purchase Associated Content for slightly more than $100 million.
where users share their expertise, network and voice opinions.
In contrast to many content publishing sites, AC does pay many users for content up front. Articles are usually required to be have at least 400 words and may include pictures from approved sources. The "Assignment Desk" is another source of article ideas and income for writers. AC displays predefined article titles and users can "claim" the assignment. All on-site assignments (as opposed to "Partner Assignments") pay performance-based revenue while some also pay up-front payment. Only authors who are over 18 years old and are US citizens or legal residents are eligible for up-front payments. Users may also submit content for publication without an up-front payment. Slideshows and fiction submissions generally do not receive up-front payments. All articles written by users who agree to the contract are eligible to receive payments based on the number of times their content is viewed.
AC exercises some editorial control over content, sending work back to users for "polishing" or rejecting work for violations of the site's terms of use and guidelines, including promotional or advertorial content and plagiarism. Beatty claims the site is "all about content".
In early 2009, Associated Content rebranded itself on the site as "Information from the source." Writers on the site, formerly called "Content Producers," are now called "Contributors" (after briefly being dubbed "Sources"). The "Citizen Journalist" motif was dropped.
technical writer Farhad Manjoo
sums up this criticism thus: "Associated Content stands as a cautionary tale for anyone looking to do news by the numbers. It is a wasteland of bad writing, uninformed commentary, and the sort of comically dull recitation of the news you'd get from a second grader."
Scott Rosenberg
criticized Associated Content and other companies for publishing content not aimed at human readers, but for the purpose of influencing search engines, and for actually degrading Google search results. (See: content farm
)
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
and content partners, including Yahoo News.
History
Associated Content was started in January 2005 by Luke Beatty. It is based in Denver, ColoradoDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, with business development offices in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
In April 2009, Associated Content hired a new CEO, Patrick Keane, formerly of CBS Interactive and Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
and closed a $6 million Series C round of funding from Softbank Capital and Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners
Canaan Partners is a multi-billion dollar global venture capital firm focusing on investments in early stage companies in the technology and healthcare sectors....
. Their funding now totals $21.5 million. Three weeks after the funding announcement, Associated Content reorganized and laid off 5 employees.
On May 19, 2010, Yahoo announced that it would purchase Associated Content for slightly more than $100 million.
Publishing platform
In addition to text content (articles), AC has categories for video, audio, and slide shows. There is also an online communityOnline community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
where users share their expertise, network and voice opinions.
In contrast to many content publishing sites, AC does pay many users for content up front. Articles are usually required to be have at least 400 words and may include pictures from approved sources. The "Assignment Desk" is another source of article ideas and income for writers. AC displays predefined article titles and users can "claim" the assignment. All on-site assignments (as opposed to "Partner Assignments") pay performance-based revenue while some also pay up-front payment. Only authors who are over 18 years old and are US citizens or legal residents are eligible for up-front payments. Users may also submit content for publication without an up-front payment. Slideshows and fiction submissions generally do not receive up-front payments. All articles written by users who agree to the contract are eligible to receive payments based on the number of times their content is viewed.
AC exercises some editorial control over content, sending work back to users for "polishing" or rejecting work for violations of the site's terms of use and guidelines, including promotional or advertorial content and plagiarism. Beatty claims the site is "all about content".
Motifs
Associated Content originally billed itself as "The People's Media Company". The original schema was linked to its idea that its writers (originally called "Content Producers") were "Citizen Journalists."In early 2009, Associated Content rebranded itself on the site as "Information from the source." Writers on the site, formerly called "Content Producers," are now called "Contributors" (after briefly being dubbed "Sources"). The "Citizen Journalist" motif was dropped.
Criticism
Associated Content has been criticized for the quality of its content. SlateSlate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
technical writer Farhad Manjoo
Farhad Manjoo
Farhad Manjoo is an American journalist and author. He has been a staff writer for Slate magazine since 2008 and a regular on-air contributor for National Public Radio since 2009.-Life and career:...
sums up this criticism thus: "Associated Content stands as a cautionary tale for anyone looking to do news by the numbers. It is a wasteland of bad writing, uninformed commentary, and the sort of comically dull recitation of the news you'd get from a second grader."
Scott Rosenberg
Scott Rosenberg (journalist)
- External links :**...
criticized Associated Content and other companies for publishing content not aimed at human readers, but for the purpose of influencing search engines, and for actually degrading Google search results. (See: content farm
Content farm
In the context of the World Wide Web, the term content farm is used to describe a company that employs large numbers of often freelance writers to generate large amounts of textual content which is specifically designed to satisfy algorithms for maximal retrieval by automated search engines...
)
External links
- Official Website
- Investment announcement by American Venture TV