Larry Ribstein, getting into Dan Solove's fun on how to price a blog for sale, has a great post that questions what it is a blog sale would actually transfer to the buyer. Consumer preferences are, as the saying goes, sticky; and thus the blog as a brand has value to the buyer, so long as consumers will keep coming back for more. As Larry cogently explains,
"But what could Glenn Reynolds or I convey to a third party if the only person associated with the blog leaves? Possibly a buyer could capture something like the same audience if he's introduced and vetted by the previous owner. The seller’s talents probably aren’t unique. The new owner could mimic the previous writing style, take over many of the contacts, etc."
Interestingly, there's a real-life example of something not too different: Jeanne Phillips stepping into her mother's shoes as the author of the "Dear Abby" column. Ms. Phillips made her ghostwriting role public in 2000, but had been writing since 1987.
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1. Posted by Christine Hurt on October 26, 2005 @ 10:08 | Permalink
Perhaps bloggers who want to cash out could create a "Dread Pirate Roberts" franchise a la Princess Bride. Do you really know that this typist is Christine? She could be sailing the South Seas.
2. Posted by Eric Goldman on October 26, 2005 @ 14:25 | Permalink
The operator of fuckedcompany.com tried to sell his site on eBay several times...but there were no buyers for (I think) precisely this reason.
As a practical matter, this issue always arises in the sale of a closely held company, a consulting shop, or a law firm. The general rule is that you want the managerial talent to sign on to an employment agreement with a non-compete to keep the business going on a status quo basis.
Eric.
3. Posted by Chat on July 29, 2007 @ 6:16 | Permalink
I’d be interested in an updated GoogleAnalytics chart (may be two with about six weeks coverage), just to see if the effect did wear off after a while and also, did others link to your new name with the same link-text (allinurl:…).
I hope you will publish a follow up.
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