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Demand Media, Inc. is an American content and social media company〔("Demand Media Corporate Profile" Retrieved February 28, 2012. )〕 that operates online brands such as eHow and Cracked, and is known for creating online content through its Demand Media Studios division based on a combination of measured consumer demand and predicted return on investment. Demand Media's business model is controversial because its "content farms" have been accused of polluting search engine results with spam.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=gigaom )〕 The company also provides social media platforms to existing large company websites and distributes content bundled with social media tools to outlets around the web.〔(Michael LoPresti, EContent Digital Content Strategies and Resources, December 1, 2008. )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Company Overview of Demand Media, Inc. )〕 The company also owns eNom, the world's second-largest domain registrar,〔(eNom.com. )〕 and as of 2013, the most abused/abusive registrar of domains used for spam email, according to URIBL.〔(URIBL website. )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=theregister.co.uk )〕 Demand Media was created in 2006 by a former private equity investor, Shawn Colo, and the former chairman of MySpace, Richard Rosenblatt. The company employs an algorithm that identifies topics with high advertising potential, based on search engine query data and bids on advertising auctions. These topics are typically in the advice and how-to field. It then commissions freelancers to produce corresponding text or video content. The content is posted on a variety of sites, including YouTube and the company's own sites such as eHow, Airliners.net, Livestrong.com, Trails.com, GolfLink.com, Mania.com, and Cracked.com. == History == Demand Media was co-founded in May 2006〔(Matt Marshall, Silicon Beat, The Mercury News, Demand Media raises $120 million for a bunch of shell websites, May 2, 2006. )〕 by Richard Rosenblatt and Shawn Colo. Rosenblatt has a long history of building and selling Internet media companies. As chief executive officer of Intermix Media and Chairman of MySpace.com, Rosenblatt was one of the innovators of Internet social networking.〔(John Heilemann, CNNMoney.com, Giving the Audience Its Own Domain, profile of Richard Rosenblatt )〕 Colo is a financial acquisition specialist. He worked for 10 years in the private equity industry as a principal with Spectrum Equity Investors, specializing in media and communications companies.〔(Shawn Colo, Co-Founder and Head of M&A, Demand Media profile )〕 Demand Media raised more than $355 million in financing over its first two years from investors such as Oak Investment Partners, Spectrum Equity Investors, Generation Partners and Goldman Sachs.〔(Adam Ostrow, Mashable, All That’s New on the Web, Demand Media Raises $100 Million, September 25, 2007. )〕〔(PaidContent.org )〕 In June 2007, Demand Media hired Charles Hilliard, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker, NetZero/United Online senior executive and initial public offering (IPO) specialist, as its president and chief financial officer〔()〕 and acquired Byron Reese's how-to website, ExpertVillage.com of Austin, TX, for about $20 million. Reese became the company's chief innovation officer and developed the algorithm that the company uses to identify topics with high advertising potential.〔 By 2008, Demand Media had acquired more than 30 domain-name portfolios and owned 65 destination websites. It said that its 2009 revenue was nearly $200 million and that it was making a profit,〔(Joseph Menn, Los Angeles Times, Champion of the Obscure, Under Richard Rosenblatt, the company has amassed thousands of specialty sites and expects a healthy profit this year, July 16, 2008. )〕 but it was later reported that the company had never been profitable. In July 2008, it was reported that Yahoo! was interested in buying Demand Media for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.〔(Michael Arrington, Tech Crunch, Yahoo Takes A Gander At Demand Media To Plug Some Holes, July 9, 2008. )〕 Sources close to both companies said Yahoo! executives were attracted to Demand Media’s generation of advertising impressions and its ability to create niche social networks for media sites. Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt later said that the company was not for sale.〔(Kara Swisher, Boomtown, All Things Digital, Demand Media’s Richard Rosenblatt Speaks, July 9, 2008. )〕 The deal never got past the talking stage. It was reported that Rosenblatt wanted a price closer to $3 billion for Demand Media.〔(CNET News, July 9, 2008. )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Demand Media」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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