Media Business - July 2010

Apioneerin Web2.0beforetheterm wascoined, ITworld wasfounded a decade ago and, in 2007, acquired by IDG Communications from Accela Communications. As proof of its continued relevance, ITworld saw traffic increase 123% between May 2009 and May 2010, which was also the month the site reached an all-time high of 1,338,241 page views.

In the increasingly crowded social media space, “we keep users engaged by continuously offering new features that enable them to showcase their knowledge and expertise,” said Jodie Naze, ITworld director. One recent addition is an interview series in which IT professionals talk about their personal career journeys.

ITworld also added two new sponsorship opportunities. With its new spon-

sored blogs, advertisers can provide their own blogger, choose a topic and have ITworld select a blogger, or give full control to ITworld. All the ad units surrounding

WEB 2.0/TECH

ITWORLD
URL: www.itworld.com
Company: IDG Communications
Average monthly unique visitors:
386,000
Source: Omniture

the blog are dedicated to the sponsor’s messaging. The second such sponsorship opportunity is an ad unit advertisers can use to promote a featured download.

“IT leaders are living in a period of unprecedented change, and they must connect with and be involved in credible conversations with their peers and trusted sources,” Naze said. “ITworld’s goal is to be a catalyst for those conversations.” ;

Founded in 1998, Lawnsite.com is a veritable veteran among b-to-b communities and has continued to evolve and grow steadily over the years.

“We work to engage our audience through continuous innovation,” said Sean Adams, VP-online communities at Moose River Media. “We are always modifying forum topics and creating new sub-forums that match the needs and requests of our audience.”

Lawnsite.com consistently generates 4 million to 6 million page views every month, and between May 2009 and May 2010 registered users increased more than 20%, to 107,000.

Adams attributed the growth to LawnSite.com revenue grew 22.6% from 2008 to 2009 and is on track to increase 35% this year. “From the start, we made the decision to develop strong partnerships with industry-specific vendors, and it has driven our revenue significantly,” Adams said. Rather than relying on contextual ad programs from third parties such as Google’s AdSense, Moose River sells its own keyword sponsorships as well as sponsorships of individual forums, e-newsletter advertising and opportunities to contact Lawnsite’s registered members through a private e-mail system. ;

WEB 2.0/TRADE

LAWNSITE.COM URL: www.lawnsite.com

Company: Moose River Media Average monthly unique visitors: 381,365

Source: Google Analytics

GT TV was launched on Government Technology’s website, www.govtech.com, in May 2007. Ever since, parent com-pany e.Republic has steadily invested in the video medium. “Video is a desired medium because it enhances the website, engages the audience and is an extremely good vehicle for communicating,” said Don Pearson, exec VP of e.Republic. He added that video is becoming more important as the digital medium evolves, which is why e.Republic has made a strong commitment to creating original video editorial. GT TV currently has about 300 editorial videos, and one or two new ones are added to the site weekly.

In addition to writing magazine and website articles, e.Republic editors are expanding their skills to include video production, Pearson said. “We’ve also made an investment in a professional team familiar with the video medium to back up the editors and make sure our production quality is as high as the caliber of our print and Web editorial content,” he said.

In January 2007, e.Republic installed a video studio at its headquarters in Folsom, Calif., and hired its first full-time video editor/producer; a second video specialist was added in late 2008. ;