Are You Looking Forward To Google Buying Feedburner?
A post over by Amit on Digital Inspiration where he voiced his fears about Google buying Feedburner for $100m (almost confirmed) got me thinking about whether as a blogger I should be looking forward to Google muscling its way into another blog monetisation method. Amit’s main concern is that if Google continues its acquisition spree, then bloggers will have no choice but to put all their eggs in one basket.
To be honest, most bloggers are already totally dependent on Google and even if Feedburner stayed independent or were picked up by another company, I don’t think this situation would ever change. This blog for instance receives 70% of its traffic from Google, and although I’ve managed to introduce other sources of income, this month 60% of my income will still come via Google Adsense.
As far as I’m concerned Google are the blogger’s best friend, and I really hope that they help Feedburner reach its full potential and finally deliver an effective feed monetisation method. I estimate that about 2/3 of my 1500 or so RSS subscribers don’t actually visit the site. At the moment I’m only making about $50-100 a month from my feed, whereas if those readers actually visited my site I would around $1200 a month. If anybody’s going to be able to close that gap, then it will be Google.
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Comment by Mike on 25 May 2007:
Everton. I have to say that I’m disappointed in you. I always felt that you were someone with their finger on the pulse so this post makes me shake my head.
This is exactly what Big G want you to think. They want you to become reliant on them. Purchasing FeedBurner is the next part of their plan.
Purchase or punish.
That’s how they’re working.
This is a bad move as far as web publishers are concerned.
Comment by Everton on 25 May 2007:
I’m a realist Mike. At the moment Google are the most efficient internet company and I have no major complaints with any of their products. If a new organistation came along that were better than Google and Google then acquired them I’d be the first to cry foul, as that would be stifling competition.
But, when Google picks up a company that isn’t realising its potential like Feedburner and then helps them realise them their potential, then who exactly is losing out? No one. Purchasing Feedburner isn’t stifling competiton, as Feedburner aren’t even in the game at the moment.
Comment by listikal on 25 May 2007:
As long as they’ve got the money, they are going to buy whomever they want. Do you really think a few miniscual bloggers are going to fend off Google?
Of course we want other avenues, but as you said Everton, Adsense is still a big part of a lot of peoples revenue, so they merge, it’s just another Adsense venue.
Comment by mortalez on 25 May 2007:
I feel anytime all net media is owned by only a few things are not well in cyberville. first it was microsoft, and we all know how the ruined everything they touched, then yahoo started buying up everything in site and it was good (until they started charging for everything).
As I see it we see a touch of what google will become already, they bought blogger then changed the TOS, they bought youtube and started removing vid that has been there for months with no complant, I see google falling into the same trap as yahoo, both companies started small, had very few rules on the use of their services and all said service was free, then little by little what you got for free became less and less at least with yahoo, and now google is following the same path.
But on the brite side when yahoo went down that path it just opened the door for google so it is only a matter of time before someone else fills the void of free and good that google will leave behind, but how long will we have to suffer until then.