2. Focusing on the Following Realms Audio – iTunes, duh! Video – Stranded on a deserted island… YouTube, Netflix, or RedBox? Search – Just Google that $#!+ Social Media – Tweet, follow, or get out of the way! News – You mean like on Facebook?
3. In 2008, Income Diary’s Michael Dunlop posted a list of the world’s top 30 earning websites… Google took 1st place with $21.8 billion in revenue. Facebook was all the way down in 24th while MySpace took 18th… Remember MySpace? The top dedicated news site was Reuters, in 8th place, while the NY Times inched in at 30th. The list is littered with various retailers and perhaps even a couple of sites you’ve never heard of! Check out the full list at: http://www.incomediary.com/top-earning-websites/
4. Audio iTunes surpassed 10 billion downloads in early 2010. Their revenue was $1.9 billion Amazon’s Audible.com is the largest online provider of spoken word content. Their products can also be found on iTunes. Sirius XM Satellite Radio posted a loss of $81.44 Million for the 4th Qtr of 2010. Many of their talk programs also sell podcasts of their shows on iTunes. Pandora streamed 2.1 billion hours of music to 80 million users last year. Their revenue wasn’t enough to cover the royalty fees. [Wikipedia, RTTNews, France24]
5. Video Analysts believe YouTube will generate over $1 billion in revenue this year but it is still unclear whether the site has become profitable. Redbox boasted a 30% market share and 4th Qtr revenue of $319.6 million in 2010. Netflix revenue for the same Qtr was $595.9 million, with over 20 million subscribers. YouTube and Redbox are owned by Google and Coinstarrespectively. Netflix is not a subsidiary of a larger company. [SocialTimes, Engadget, CNBC]
6. Search Even my dead grandma knows that Google is the biggest kid in the search engine school yard. This may come as a shock, but Yahoo (much like MySpace) is actually still around. Just try going to their site some time and see for yourself. Oh, and if you don’t know the address, just Google it! Newcomer Bing, Microsoft’s replacement project for MSN and Live Search, went online in the summer of 2009. It now powers Yahoo and has about a 13% market share. [Wikipedia]
7. Social Media Facebook and Twitter have been credited as the central catalysts to the recent revolutions in the Arab world. Twitter’s 2009 revenue of $25 million may be nowhere near Facebook’s $500 million, but it is a much newer company and continues to grow. Seriously, MySpace really does still exist. Tom still has the most friends. [Lew Rockwell, Agile Dudes]
8. News According to a recent list (March 2011), Yahoo news is actually the most popular news site with an estimated 70 million unique monthly visitors. Yes, they even beat Google. Facebook didn‘t appear anywhere on the list. Digg(7th on the list), laid off 37% of its staff in late 2010 in an effort to achieve profitability in 2011. [eBiz MBA, Digital Media Wire]
9. What Does it all Mean? Some realms of digital media are more profitable than others. Within the same realm, multiple formats can be very popular while some are also very profitable and others aren’t at all. Diverse digital media companies, such as Google and Microsoft are often not only the most successful, but also the most capable of sustaining new digital media ideas while they grow and achieve profitability. They are also more likely to survive failed ideas.
10. Sources "Top Earning Websites | Most Profitable Websites." How To Make Money Online. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.incomediary.com/top-earning-websites/>. "ITunes." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes>. "Audible.com." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audible.com>. Bug, Injury. "Sirius XM Posts Q4 Loss, Guides 2011 Revenues Below View; Shares Fall - Update." RTTNews - Realtime Financial News, Economic News, Forex News, Stock Alerts, Breaking News.... Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.rttnews.com/ArticleView.aspx?Id=1553144>. "France24 - Pandora Hopes IPO a Path to Profit." France24 - International Breaking News and Headlines. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.france24.com/en/20110212-pandora-hopes-ipo-path-profit>. "Will YouTube Be A Billion Dollar Business In 2011?" SocialTimes.com - Covering All That's Social on the Web - News, Applications, OpenSocial, Social Media and More! Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.socialtimes.com/2011/03/youtube-billion-dollar-business/>. Bowers, Ben. "Redbox Passed 30,000 Kiosks in Q4 2010, but Still Missed Financial Expectations." Engadget HD. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://hd.engadget.com/2011/02/08/redbox-passed-30-000-kiosks-in-q4-2010-but-still-missed-financi/>. "News Headlines." CNBC Mobile Home. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.cnbc.com/id/41275477/Netflix_Profit_Outlook_Impress_Investors_Shares_Leap>. 2011, January. "Bing (search Engine)." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bing_(search_engine)>. "Facebook, Twitter, and the Arab Revolutions by Gary North." LewRockwell.com. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north939.html>. "Facebook and Twitter Revenue | Agile Social Consulting." Social Media Strategy Social Media Marketing | Agile Dudes Social Media Solutions. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://agiledudes.com/all/how-much-money-does-facebook-and-twitter-make/>. "Top 15 Most Popular News Websites." EBiz MBA. Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. <http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/news-websites>. "Digg Lays Off 37% of Staff; Chief Revenue Officer Exits | Digital Media Wire." Digital Media Wire | Connecting People & Knowledge. Web. 25 Mar. 2011. <http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2010/10/25/digg-lays-37-staff-chief-revenue-officer-exits>.
