A look inside Demand Media’s automated content machine.
Ever since Demand Media launched, a lot of people have wondered how it actually makes money (other than through its eNom division). A reader just sent a fascinating article to me from Wired that explains its content machine and money making ability: using algorithms and a freelance army to churn out vast, but low quality content.
It works a lot like how domainers decide which domains to develop and how to outsource content writing for minisites. But it does it on a much, much bigger scale and automatically.
First, an algorithm determines which phrases and answers people on the internet are seeking using data from ISPs, search engines, etc. It then calculates the lifetime value of creating a content page (often including text and video) for that query. If it makes economic sense, that query is then queued up for an army of freelancers to write text, film a video, create a headline, copyedit, and fact check. Think of it as Amazon’s mTurk but just for Demand Media.
The content is then syndicated through YouTube and Demand Media’s own network of sites, such as eHow. Demand cashes in on the ads it shows alongside the content.
Quality is not a concern. One videographer has produced 40,000 short videos. As he describes in the article, it’s about volume. He gets paid about $20 a video. That doesn’t leave time for producing compelling content and its matching professionalism.
By next summer, Demand expects to produce one million items a month.
This all makes me wonder if it’s a house of cards. We’ve all seen business models based on producing low quality content, content spinning, and other schemes that ultimately don’t deliver the requisite value to viewers. They ultimately fail.
If nothing else, the article answers my question, “how come when go to eHow I leave not getting the detailed answer I was looking for?”
jorge says
This article is crazy!
Makes me wonder how small mini-site developers can ever hope to generate enough of their own content.
One of the things you always hear about SEO is: “Content is king.” But it really sounds like “crappy content is king.” Google has a vested interest in sending you to these YouTube sites when you search… How long will people put up with the web as it gets harder and harder to find the good stuff.
jblack says
Given your article, the objective does not appear to be achieving success via quality content or providing a meaningful service. Rather, the company’s objective appears simply to raise revenue profiles high enough to obtain a final hot potato sale to another company. Reminds one a little of GeoSign’s failed strategy, but on steroids.
NameDev says
The internet used to be about finding information. Companies such as this are turning the internet into vast amounts of misinformation.
Oklahoma says
I’ve been expecting this info. explosion for some time.
I think this really means that search engines will have to go back to basics and have a human element involved in selection. Even Google can’t compete with millions of people creating misinformation/crap information and sites just to make a few bucks a month.
Can you imagine what $20 more a month means to some people in some parts of the world? That wave has yet to come, but it will.
All these algorithms will be brought to their knees by the onslaught of an army of site creators.
Mike says
40,000 x $20 is a helluva number. I just got my new JVC camcorder in the mail today. May have to drop domaining and get into videographing for Demand 🙂
Phil says
I have to agree that this is not a long term viable solution for company success…these sort of crappy companies have to take the money and run because otherwise they won’t be around for long…its kind of sad that folks play these spammy games instead of creating something worthwhile in the world.
Killer says
This does not concern me much…these content machines are en vogue now. They won’t and can’t last. Carefully crafted content will always be needed, meaning writers do not have to accept low pay. Patience, my friends, is still a virtue.
google has the strings says
all that needs to happen is for google adsense to crack down on the low quality content, and then demand would either tank, or be forced to pay decent wages for decent content. i sympathize with the videographer. i write articles for demand media, and even though i only write about subjects i know well, i can’t spend the time to write a detailed treatise on every topic. $15 an article is simply too little in compensation for my time. if i were paid $50-$75 on the other hand…