Huffington Post and TechCrunch both have high valuations ($100m+). Yes, Virginia, social media and blogs CAN make money. Will 2010 see the further rise of social media proprietors?
Something that continually gets asked of me at conferences and workshops is “Where’s the Money?”. It’s usually said in a tone that implies that social media is so gosh- darn “social” and “friendly” that everyone gives everything away for free. Which of course is just rubbish. Currency itself has no inherent value except what we, the community/nation, put on it.
We value what we value – here’s the some of the revenue information and the valuation of two uber-blogs:
Huffington Post Revenue and Valuation
Estimated Value: $150 million
Business: An online newspaper/news aggregator and group blog.
Location: New York, NY
More Info: About The Huffington Post
CEO: Eric Hippeau
Investors: Greycroft Partners, Softbank Capital, Ken Lerer, Bob Pittman, Oak Investment Partners
Analysis: Many naysayers thought Huffington Post’s moment in the spotlight would fade away after the presidential election, but one year later the political/news blog has nearly doubled its audience to around 7 million monthly US unique visitors. The company has proven to be more than adept at balancing reporting the news with growing visitors and pageviews.
We estimate about $10 million in 2009 revenue and apply a 15-times multiple (higher than other blogs given growth and brand strength) to arrive at a $150 million valuation. (from Silicon Alley Insider)
Compare with TechCrunch valuation:
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