Will the NY Times Make Blogs Safe for Blog-Ignorant Ad Buyers?

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The New York Times has launched David Carr’s daily blog, The Carpetbagger, which will run in the entertainment section during Oscar season.
And Frank Barnako reports that a real estate blog is next, saying that Jonathan Landman, deputy managing editor of the Times told the staff in an email.
“Nothing is more important to the future of our web ambitions than to engage our sophisticated readers. Blogs are one way to do it,” Landsman said.
He also said the blogs will have editors and will adhere to the Times’ journalistic standard.
Maybe the Times will finally make a plan to maximize its acquisition of the 500 blogs it bought at the fire sale price of $410 million in February 2005.
A Safe Haven for Blog-Ignorant Media Buyers?
Having such a vast network of blogs and bloggers certainly positions the Times well for incorporating blogging into its infrastructure. And creates a great opportunity for advertisers anxious to enter the blog space.
The Times is a known entity for blog-ignorant traditional agencies and corporate media buyers, not a scary moonscape like the blogs of individuals who make their own rules.

Comments

1. Monty Loree says:

   December 8, 2005 at 9:44 pm

   If The New York Times is selling ads on blogs, that would give me much more confidence than if it was a no-name blog.
   Recently I’ve studied some blogs which appeared to be high traffic on the surface. These blogs artificially stuffed their results to become advertisers with BlogAds. BlogAds is by invitation only.
   I looked at their stats and it seems these “busy blogs” were using bots to increase their traffic. Some of these blogs are truly busy blogs, and you can tell so by the amount of comments, etc. However, I wouldn’t trust them any more to advertise on them.

   Reply
2. BL Ochman says:

   December 8, 2005 at 9:52 pm

   but then again you have no way to prove anything you’ve said.
   and NY Times blogs are simply not going to reach the highly targeted audience that “no name” blogs reach for a fraction of the cost.
   I used Blogads.com and ads on Boing Boing and Gizmodo to generate 50% of the traffic on the Up Your Budget Treasure Hunt.
   and Comments are not the best way to tell if a blog is “busy” or influential.

   Reply
3. Monty Loree says:

   December 9, 2005 at 8:54 am

   Hey BL:
   True, True and True…
   It all begs the question about metrics: How can you measure blogs or any website’s traffic? The only way to get a true reading on traffic would be to hire a third party auditor who had access to traffic logs and who could keep an eye on things.
   Comments are one way to talk about traffic. Also quality of material and how long a blogs been around.
   I’ve been on some blogs which get 20-80 comments for each post. It would be hard to pay somebody to do that many comments.
   It’s interesting that blogads are getting you that much traffic. nice!

   Reply
4. BL Ochman says:

   December 9, 2005 at 10:48 am

   Blogads.com provides real-time clickthru information, as do other blog networks.
   what matters is results. And sometimes, the results you get from little, quirky, niche blogs with low traffic are better than what you get from blogs with heavier traffic.
   are you a media buyer?

   Reply
5. Monty Loree says:

   December 9, 2005 at 2:09 pm

   I have done a little media purchasing. My company was into fax broadcasting until the business got crimped by U.S. fax laws.
   I’m transitioning into being an affiliate marketer. More control of hours and employees.

   Reply