Is Google A Content Company?

So, if you’re the New York Times or Wall Street Journal you:

1. Hire John Markoff and Walt Mossberg (on staff)

2. Distribute their technology reportage

3. Sell advertising against that reportage

4. Pay Markoff and Mossberg

5. Create an archive on NYTIMES.com and WSJ.com of their work.

Let’s run Google’s Knol through this same process:

1. Hire writers (on contingency) — check

2. Distribute these pages in Google’s search results — check

3. Sell advertising against it in the form of AdSense — check

4. Pay the writers via AdSense split — check

5. Create an archive on Knol for future monetization — check

Is Google A Content Company? Of Course It Is. So What Should Publishers Do?

 

Couldn’t have said it any better.