Some reading about the New York Times Purchase of About.com
Forbes - All the Loyalty that's fit to print
Jay Rosen Press Think - A Little Detail in the Sale of About.com to the NY Times Must reads in this are the comments and other related pieces which include Jakob Nielson writing;
"The real secret of About.com is that they have figured out a way to get 500 domain experts to work for peanuts, in return for the exalted status as "guides." But the NY Times could probably have done that on its own by throwing a little prestige and a few thousand dollars at the top bloggers in each of the targeted areas they wanted to cover.
Somebody who already has a prestigious brand could duplicate About.com in a year for less than $50M. And anybody could do it in two years for $150M."
And a founding editor of About.com agreeing.
Richard MacManus - Blog Branding About.com and Kotkke (via Mernit)
