Mashable being sold to AOL?

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Chris Kalani — 15 Comments

mashable-aol

We had this really sweet old-school email thread going on regarding AOL’s possible acquisition of Mashable. It sparked a great discussion that we thought could flourish and spread it’s wings on a more collaborative platform.

Personally. I find it disappointing to see these great brands/sites/applications build themselves up to a point of influence just to be folded into a company that obviously doesn’t have the vision or the time it takes to build something on their own. I totally understand each case is different and hopefully this will help Mashable and their goal to reach a broader audience. But typically we just see the founder take the cash and leave, taking the passion along with them. Pete Cashmore is a cool guy though so I’m excited to see what happens.

Let’s hear it. What do you think?

UPDATE: Mashable has issued a statement denying the report.

Tags: AOL, Mashable

15 Comments

Micheal Foley on January 6, 2010

When I first saw the e-mail come through I thought it was a joke. When I realized it wasn’t, I had the same reaction as you — I was a little sad to see an independent voice bought out by a huge corporation with deep pockets.

But, who knows? With deep pockets, more resources will be available to them…

mhaidle on January 6, 2010

Pete Cashmore of Mashable may be the pretty boy of Silicon Valley, but he is a savvy businessman. I have no doubt that he weighed the pros and cons and determined this was the best strategy for Mashable. Pete has too big a presence and personality to get lost with shuffle of the AOL buyout; whether or not he stays with AOL is a whole other story. Either way, I’m curious to hear more details and to see how the industry reacts.

Elizabeth Miller on January 6, 2010

Is this nothing more than an increasingly insignificant dinosaur trying to regain a footing? Is this a middle-aged company trying to look hip by buy a cool, young thing?

What options does AOL have but to spread what existing capital still remains in hope of once again becoming relevant?

Tim Sears on January 6, 2010

I’m hoping this leads to better quality content. Mashable has become so randomized in the last year, I hope that the writers are given more of an opportunity for due diligence in their journalism instead of throwing out top 10 lists.

For example, look at their homepage right now. Only two, maybe three posts are related to social media, yet their tagline is, “The Social Media Guide.”

Idealistically, I would hope this leads to quality going up, and volume going down.

That said, they are also the number one tech blog in the world, so they have a proven model. Can we really blame Cashmore for this decision? Given the style of their blog, shouldn’t we have seen something like this coming all along?

Tiffany Wheeler on January 6, 2010

In a sense, this is ‘merchant sailing’ a la Web. Digital, and cool, communities build up their footprint indie style, troll digital spaces for passengers, load up meaty cargo… then, when the right port comes into view, they unload their wares to the highest bidder. It may represent a good business plan — and auspicious outcome — to the makers of mashable. I mean, selling off stock can be quite lucrative. It may also be true that mashable, like many lone wolf media trailblazers (go Blazers!) were forged around a mission to change the world for the better. But, when cargo gets too heavy, and your crew and space is limited, how much growth and how much more trailblazing are you prepared to handle? Maybe it’s a failure of vision, or simply a lapse in motivation… but it is one aspect of the business life cycle: to sell, to buy, to get bought. With brands that have built a sense of high integrity around their product, however, this can be especially disillusioning to fans. And painful. Take Tom’s of Maine, another disappointing exploit. As the AOL of toothpaste, Colgate made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Kevin Murphy on January 6, 2010

When will AOL run out of cash? I guess the 80s were good to them.

Jon Silk on January 6, 2010

Mashable’s Pete Cashmore is happy to be interviewed, media-savvy and promotes bias-free, albeit less-than-edgy content on his site. He’s a popular guy.

TechCrunch’s Mike Arrington and, to an extent, TechCrunch Europe’s Mike Butcher, take a different tack. They prefer irreverence, and the scandal, gossip and scoops that go with it.

While they are often spoken about in the same breath, it’s no surprise which one was sold to a big, established portal player first.

Can you even *imagine* a joint press conference, post purchase, with Arrington and a company like AOL saying nice things about each other?

Chris Kalani on January 6, 2010

I want to know when we will see startups hold steadfast and not buckle to the wads of cash thrown at them. All of these big companies were small at one point, but if they just keep getting bought and thrown into the same old cycle that suffocates creativity and innovation then we’ll never see anything new develop on a larger scale. There needs to be a new generation that replaces the old… they’re dying out for a reason, we need to stop humoring them by letting them think they can just spend money instead of working hard.

Grant Williams on January 6, 2010

Nice post Chris! Love the graphic too. I’m with Tiffany on this one. Are we really surprised? It’s standard, cliche, business lifecycle. It reeks but it tastes good, if you are the one getting the cash. I can’t wait to get my “400 hours of free Mashable!” disc in the Sunday paper.

uberVU - social comments on January 6, 2010

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mdenton on January 6, 2010

Nice Grant! I hope they upgrade it to 450 hours. I have to say that I’m on Chris’ side on this one. It’s not ALWAYS about money is it? Craigslist has turned down many-an-offer to be purchased and is still killing it! Wikipedia is an example of a company that was bought out and didn’t change too much from it’s origional idea. Not that I think Mashable is on the level of CL or Wiki, but it is a bit disheartening to think that pitching another authoritative editorial placement is going to have to be accomponied by a media buy before it’s considered. (On AOL to boot.)

Tim Sears on January 6, 2010

Food for thought: With AOL backing, Mashable could be first-in-line for the digital reading super-experience on the forthcoming tablet from Apple + others.

Right now, it sounds like only big brands are involved, and if tablets really do take off (the print messiah), this could get AOL into the mix.

If you haven’t seen it yet, this is a production-ready super experience (real, not a concept) that Sports Illustrated put together:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk

mdenton on January 7, 2010

Great point Tim,

Foley turned me onto the SI tablet concept yesterday, and I have to admit their approach is impressive to say the least, and Mashable is exactly the type of content I’d like to see on tablets or ereaders.

Micheal Foley on January 7, 2010

Mashable has acknowledged Scoble’s reports and the subsequent speculation with this short statement of denial: http://mashable.tumblr.com/post/322043287
(hat tip to Jon Silk)

What does everyone think? Is AOL just in talks with Mashable? Did Cashmore just put this up the flagpole to gauge reader sentiment? Anybody care to speculate further?

Taura Edgar on January 7, 2010

If nothing else it is a great way for Cashmore to let AOL know he’s talking to others and not sufficiently swayed by anyone yet….read “up your offer pal!”

Thinkers and Doers