Comments on: What would Google do? AOL has the answer: the algorithm as editor http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/ A conversation. Fri, 25 May 2012 00:29:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: How to catch your subscribers Attention with Your Title | Income Girl http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13980 How to catch your subscribers Attention with Your Title | Income Girl Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:26:57 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13980 [...] This creates wonder with the reader and will direct them to open the mail and read about. What would Google do? AOL has the answer: the algorithm as editor | Online Journalism Blog onlinejournalismblog.comGoogle Releases Open Source JavaScript Tools rss.slashdot.orgLakewood [...] [...] This creates wonder with the reader and will direct them to open the mail and read about. What would Google do? AOL has the answer: the algorithm as editor | Online Journalism Blog onlinejournalismblog.comGoogle Releases Open Source JavaScript Tools rss.slashdot.orgLakewood [...]

]]> By: Dan McCarthy http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13979 Dan McCarthy Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:39:54 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13979 This is a very elegant sounding solution, but I've seen just how astute writer's can be about selecting topics to write about if the economic incentive is high enough. Back in 1999, I was involved with an early consumer-generated content special interest portal, which incorporated an early blogging system so that writers could post into the portal, creating their own content brands. We made the decision early on in the development of the company to pay the writers, assuming that we would attract a higher quality of writer and that the ensuing advertising revenues would more than cover the content costs. We decided to pay writers based on the traffic they generated. (There was a fatal flaw in our thinking, but we didn't sort that out until we were fairly far along.) What we discovered quickly was that the best writers identified hot topics that would drive higher-than-average traffic by themselves. After all, they had an economic incentive: every time they got a visit, the meter clicked and they got a little more in their personal bank account. The algorithms are well and good, but any good writer with a handle on the expressed zeitgeist on the web can drive content that will drive traffic. They just want to get paid enough to make it well worth their while. This is a very elegant sounding solution, but I’ve seen just how astute writer’s can be about selecting topics to write about if the economic incentive is high enough.

Back in 1999, I was involved with an early consumer-generated content special interest portal, which incorporated an early blogging system so that writers could post into the portal, creating their own content brands.

We made the decision early on in the development of the company to pay the writers, assuming that we would attract a higher quality of writer and that the ensuing advertising revenues would more than cover the content costs. We decided to pay writers based on the traffic they generated. (There was a fatal flaw in our thinking, but we didn’t sort that out until we were fairly far along.)

What we discovered quickly was that the best writers identified hot topics that would drive higher-than-average traffic by themselves. After all, they had an economic incentive: every time they got a visit, the meter clicked and they got a little more in their personal bank account.

The algorithms are well and good, but any good writer with a handle on the expressed zeitgeist on the web can drive content that will drive traffic. They just want to get paid enough to make it well worth their while.

]]> By: David Gregory http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13978 David Gregory Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:07:33 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13978 Surely the big question is doe tthe quality of the writing affect the quality of the ads you can attract? And imagine there's a horror story about some product? Could a rival company buy ads to run alongside knocking copy? Copy that was created just for their adverts in the first place? Surely the big question is doe tthe quality of the writing affect the quality of the ads you can attract?
And imagine there’s a horror story about some product? Could a rival company buy ads to run alongside knocking copy? Copy that was created just for their adverts in the first place?

]]> By: malcolm coles http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13977 malcolm coles Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:08:09 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13977 "The system is designed to track breaking news and trends and identify the best times to write about seasonal events, such as Halloween or Monday Night Football." Hmm, tricky. How about just before Halloween? And Monday and Tuesday morning!! Do I get $100? “The system is designed to track breaking news and trends and identify the best times to write about seasonal events, such as Halloween or Monday Night Football.”

Hmm, tricky. How about just before Halloween? And Monday and Tuesday morning!!

Do I get $100?

]]> By: Paul Bradshaw http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13976 Paul Bradshaw Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:00:26 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13976 I mean search data - what people are searching for, right now, across a number of properties. They also have ad sales data: what advertisers are paying for, right now. I mean search data – what people are searching for, right now, across a number of properties. They also have ad sales data: what advertisers are paying for, right now.

]]> By: Rebooting the News #35 « Rebooting The News http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13975 Rebooting the News #35 « Rebooting The News Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:08:46 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13975 [...] an algorithmic spam content business that targets not our in-boxes but the web itself. AOL is moving to something [...] [...] an algorithmic spam content business that targets not our in-boxes but the web itself. AOL is moving to something [...]

]]> By: Richard Kendall http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13974 Richard Kendall Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:23:28 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13974 Starting from scratch, with a not-for-profit model, no established printed publication ties, no recession and a virtual sack full of data, there's a news publishers dream! Starting from scratch, with a not-for-profit model, no established printed publication ties, no recession and a virtual sack full of data, there’s a news publishers dream!

]]> By: Shafqat http://onlinejournalismblog.com/2009/11/30/what-would-google-do-aol-has-the-answer-the-algorithm-as-editor/#comment-13973 Shafqat Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:53:43 +0000 http://onlinejournalismblog.com/?p=3985#comment-13973 This does sound exactly like Demand Media. "AOL have access to data that Demand could only dream of" What does this mean? What kind of data specifically are you talking about? This does sound exactly like Demand Media.

“AOL have access to data that Demand could only dream of”

What does this mean? What kind of data specifically are you talking about?

]]>