Hubspan Sponsors Cloud Computing Channel on InfoTech
Posted by Margaret Dawson on August 15, 2010
TMCnet, the online publishing giant, has developed a unique way of combining news with marketing. The media site has a series of what they call “channels”, focused on a specific theme as broad as Business Software (sponsored by NetSuite) and as granular as Projector Lamp products (sponsored by . . . . .wait for it . . . . ”myprojectorlamps.com”).
These are sponsored pages, and while the channels do include headlines and feature articles for the specific topic, many of them look identifical to the sponsor’s corporate or product Website.
As a former journalist, I struggle with the increasingly blurred lines between the editorial and advertising side of the publishing world. Throw in the fact that nearly anyone with an Internet connection can be a “journalist” via the blogosphere, and that line is blurred even further.
So, based on that you may be surprised I decided to sponsor a TMCnet channel on the company’s InfoTech Spotlight section. As its name suggests, it’s focused on information technology. Hubspan is sponsoring the Cloud Computing Channel. However, we are honestly trying to make this a real resource for news and information related to not only cloud computing, but SaaS applications, cloud platforms, cloud security, and yes, our part of the world, cloud integration. The layout and information on the page looks and feels like the InfoTech home page, not ours.
I am far from righteous on this one, and this is clearly a marketing investment. With the TMCnet and InfoTech pages receiving hundreds of thousands of visitors each month, my hope is that a few of those folks want to learn more about us and become leads for our sales team. And you will absolutely see a Hubspan tilt on that channel, with Hubspan and our partners’ banner ads, white papers and other materials. However, you should also see a steady flow of headlines and featured articles about a wide range of companies and topics.
At the end of the day, my job is to help drive revenue. However, I don’t think that means I have to completely give up the side of my brain that still believes in journalistic integrity. You have to give TMCnet credit for finding a creative way to drive its own revenue in this competitive market where many media are in the red, while still working to serve as a credible news source.
Tags: Cloud Computing, Hubspan, InfoTech, TMCnet
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