Demand Media has come under fire as Exhibit A in content farming: a large, burgeoning startup that creates massive amounts of content cheaply and tries to capitalize on popular search terms in Google. Though it had a successful IPO, the company was dinged by a recent change in Google’s algorithm aimed at featuring higher quality content. So when Demand execs came onto our weekly podcast, they touted two major changes: removing some of the poor content that came in an old user-generated content page on eHow; paying writers up to $350 for pieces that were longer (i.e. higher quality). They also announced quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ forecasts.
So what do you think will happen in the long run to Demand Media? Is this a boffo success story or an idea that can’t stand up to algorithm changes by Google? Vote in our poll below or share your detailed thoughts in the comments.
