The ‘open content network’ Associated Content is looking to own more localised event content with advertising, its CEO told BIA/Kelsey in an interview for its blog.
Associated Content, which has over 350,000 contributors (and 60 employees), gathers and syndicates content around the web. CEO Patrick Keane told BIA/Kelsey that the company can also develop content on a “custom” basis for commercial clients, which it has done for Reuters, Hachette, Procter & Gamble and Toyota.
Publishers – who Keane calls “the owners of audience” – can increasingly see the value of unique content creation assets, he says. AOL, for instance, owns less than 10 percent of its content. Yahoo’s percentage of ownership may not be much higher.
For such sites, local content is a key differentiator, especially since so much of it has a utility angle. We see more and more contributors contributing content on a localised basis, says Keane. Consequently, one of Associated Content’s big initiatives is to find, discern and empower contributors on the basis of local DNA.