We didn’t make the list, not that we’re surprised or even disappointed, really. The list? 24/7 Wall Street’s ranking of the 25 Most Valuable Blogs.
While I might argue the nuance of “value” (does audience size and ad revenue trump meaningful discourse?), I am impressed by the analysis Douglas McIntyre put into valuation and ranking of the top blogs. While admitting at the outset that “there is no way to accurately put a value on blogs,” the site drew revenue estimates from data and assumptions about advertising and other commercial revenue, quality and quantity of ads, traffic and traffic growth. The site then based total value on a multiple derived from estimated operating margins, longevity of the blog, outside funding, and the dependence of a blog on its founder or lead personality.
Omitting the blogs of large media companies and blogs as the market-facing vehicle for another primary business, 24/7 Wall Street’s list shapes up like this:
1. Gawker (including Gawker, ValleyWag, Gizmodo, and Wonkette, among others): $150 million.
2.MacRumors: $85 million
3. Huffington Post: $70 million
4. PerezHilton: $48 million.
5. TechCrunch: $36 million.
6 (tied): Ars Technica $15 million.
6 (tied): Seeking Alpha $15 million.
8 (tied): Drudge Report $10 million.
8 (tied): Mashable $10 million.
10. GigaOm: $8.4 million.
Valuations quick tapper off. No. 23 Talking Points Memo is pegged at $860,000. McIntyre assigns no price to No. 24 Travelpod and to his No. 25 pick, his own 24/7 Wall St. (I recommend reading the post in which McIntrye explains his reasoning for each blog, expecting his own.)
There are a couple of take aways from this analysis, and the first is clear: Read the rest of this entry »
