Join Third Tuesday Toronto

You'll get invited to our Meetups as soon as they're scheduled!

Jeremy Wright: The future of blog networks and online advertising

Apr 21
Tue 6:00 PM
Location
This location is shown only to members
Estimated attendance
 130  people attended.
4.50 4.5025

Who organized?
Joseph Thornley

Would you take a 60% reduction in your salary in order to keep your company alive? The President of b5media, Jeremy Wright, would - and has.

In the first heady days of blogging, every conference and gathering of bloggers would echo the question: "How do I monetize my blog?" One answer was to join a blog network - harnessing the power of a single advertising sales team to place ads on your blog along with other blogs in the network.

b5media is a pioneer in testing and reshaping the blog network model. In its four year life (so far), it has evolved substantially - evolved in terms of what it presents, how it attracts and compensates bloggers and how it packages and sells the advertising opportunities.

Now, the recession is hitting advertising budgets and advertising sales - hard. Traditional media has been first to take a hit. We`ve seen newspapers disappear and television stations close. But online media outlets have not escaped. And b5media has been hit as hard as anyone.

So, Jeremy and his management team developed a survival plan. Jeremy took a salary cut to just above minimum wage. Other senior executives left the company. All in the name of preserving the core publishing platform to grow again when post-recession budgets are restored.

That takes guts. And it takes belief in a vision - a vision not only for a company but for the entire sector.

What is that vision and belief that caused Jeremy Wright and his executive team to choose the course they did? Well, come to the next Third Tuesday Toronto to find out.

As always, a big thank you to CNW Group, who continue to sponsor Third Tuesdays everywhere.

Photos of this Meetup

See all photos

Talk about this Meetup

  • Jon Arnold
    Posted Apr 22, 2009 9:50 AM
    Jon Arnold
    This is my first Third Tuesday event in quite a while and really enjoyed it. The blogger in me took away some good ideas, and it was great to be in the company of others trying to better understand this space. I posted my fuller thoughts this morning, and you're welcome to give that a read - http://www.ipcom-insights.c.... Am looking forward to the next event and getting to know more people in this community!
  • Flavian
    Posted Apr 22, 2009 8:12 AM
    Flavian
    The vibe, conversation and the topic were great. Jeremy is modest for his achievements as they relate to building a sustainable company (community) of purpose-driven performers. It was useful to hear perspectives around the success formula from Rick and Rachel. For me, the purpose of any event is to chat afterward about one thing that made someone?s night while asking the question: ?What'ya passionate about?? It?s always a pleasant surprise hearing their story no matter who you ask.
  • Jim Courtney
    Posted Apr 21, 2009 11:02 PM
    Jim Courtney
    Agree that Rick Segal's and Rachel's insight helped fill out the picture.

Who attended?

  • 130 attendees
    • “ Good to see some challenging questions. Less pitch and more meat. ”
    • “ Good discussion - probably not a concise story about the future of blog networks but still lots of insight. ”
    • “ Jeremy is truly passionate about b5media. He believes in its team and its bloggers and wants it to continue to succeed. He sees the value in metrics and how to create value for their advertisers, which are the key to b5media's growing success along with hiring and motivating great bloggers. Other companies who want to succeed in this economic climate online, should take note and follow in Jeremy's footsteps. ”
    • “ I thought it was a very interesting meeting and glad that I attended. In future meetings I'd like to discuss more about monetizing social media -- and making the case to business what are the benefits to becoming part of the 'groundswell'. ”
    • “ Jeremy was very informative and forthcoming. It was interesting to hear how b5media is structured, how they package for advertising and PR. Also great to hear the recruiting process for bloggers on the site and the critieria for b5media bloggers to maintain. His personal history in the industry was of equal value. The crowd asked pertinent questions which again were hightly informative. I was pleased to be able to speak with Jeremy afterwards regarding the relationship between bloggers and PR peeps and gained some valuable insight from our conversation. ”
    • “ It was a great opportunity to meet people and ask questions directly to the "speaker". ”
    • “ First time attending one of these and thought it was very good. Will look forward to future events ”
    • “ I appreciated Jeremy's candidness and comfort discussing any aspects of his experience prior to and with b5media with the exception of potential acquisition deals. ”
    • “ I found out some interesting things about blogging that I can use in my business. ”
    • “ I think a lot of the information was very general in nature and I think people were looking for more specific details. ”
    • “ Thanks Joseph and Michael for continuing to organize these events. Tim from CNW. ”
    • “ Very informative. ”
    • “ He shared some good insights that I will consider incorporating going forward. ”
    • “ Jeremy provided great insight into the mind of an entrepreneur and the evolution of consumer generated media, blogging and online advertising. He was witty, engaging and candid. Having Rick Segal as well as members of the b5Media team there turned a great event into something truly extraordinary. ”
    • “ candid, thoughtful. ”
    • “ I posted about it on my blog today and left a comment on your event page so others can view it. ”
    • “ Interesting, but way off topic. The future of the networks wasn't discussed much, and online advertising not at all. It was a "how I did it & how it works" session. Interesting, but not relevant to the topics. ”
    • “ This was my first time at Third Tuesday and it was a great experience. Jeremy's talk was extremely insightful and I'm looking forward to next month's meet-up! ”

Our Sponsors

CNW Group

CNW has supported Third Tuesday since season one.

Rogers Communications

Rogers provides the wired and wireless connections we depend on.

Molson Coors Canada

Molson demonstrates corporate best practices in social media

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Our speakers stay at Fairmont Hotels (lucky them!)

Radian6

Radian6 provides the tools we need to monitor and measure social media

Other nearby Meetup Groups
All Meetup Groups in Toronto