The money’s with the audiences, not the content

For those of you who were wondering what the difference is between audience-based sites and content-based sites, read this (rather bracing) iMedia Connection blog entry by John Nardone.

Online advertisers buy audiences, wherever they are.    "Let’s say you’re Coach. How many contextually relevant sites can you be
on, once you’ve hit the major fashion sites? What’s far more important
than getting your ad on, say Vogue.com, is getting it in front of
fashion-minded women who have the means to buy expensive leather goods
and accessories….

….you can buy audience without being tethered to editorial….The bottom line is that editorial matters only if you're reaching your target audience at a price that makes sense."

In online now, there are three things that matter:  audience, audience, audience.