Luke Beatty of Yahoo! #185

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The interwebs sure looked a lot different back in 2004 when Luke Beatty founded Associated Content and welcomed people all over the world to contribute their writing to the site. Now at the Yahoo! Contributor Network after AC's acquisition, Luke sat down with Jason to talk about the future of crowd-powered content, why video is hard to get right and what the post-Panda fallout has been like.

0:00-1:00 Today on TWiST, we’re welcoming Luke Beatty of the Yahoo! Contributor Network.
1:00-3:00 Welcome everyone, we’re back after a hiatus and ready to go.
3:00-4:00 Thank you to GoToMeeting for sponsoring the show. Enter to win a 13” MacBook Air by signing up for a free trial and sending us your receipt at contest@thisweekin.com
4:00-5:00 Welcome, Luke! Where are you today?
5:00-7:00 So you founded Associated Content (AC) in 2004. What was the basis of that start?
7:00-8:15 How was AC different from About.com when you started?
8:15-10:00 What was the revenue sharing model when you started and how did it evolve?
10:00-12:00 So it was about paying people per article?
12:00-14:00 What exactly do you think of the Panda update? Did it make search better?
14:00-14:45 LinkedIn’s new homepage experience has really driven some traffic to sites, huh?
14:45-16:30 Was there not a massive amount of gaming going on in the system?
16:30-18:30 How do you deal with lower quality content when you have an open system like you do?
18:30-19:15 If I can’t spell well, do I get kicked off of the platform?
19:15-21:30 How many editors do you have looking at this content coming in?
21:30-23:45 Who are the writers who work for you? And how much of it is driven by the economy and people needing jobs?
23:45-26:00 Thank you to Hiscox for sponsoring the show. Visit HiscoxUSA.com/SmallBiz to learn more and get a free online quote.
26:00-30:15 How did the acquisition to Yahoo! occur?
30:15-31:30 The Yahoo! Contributor Network (YCN) was buying as much as the system you created as the content, yet?
31:30-34:00 As a Yahoo! user, how would I know what’s from the YCN and what’s from a professional writer?
34:00-37:45 How has it been post-acquisition as an entrepreneur?
37:45-40:15 Do you think it’s inevitable that traditional media and content business will intertwine?
40:15-42:30 Video is obviously much different than text. Shooting video is a whole other animal, isn’t it?
42:30-43:30 What does that mean for the users who want more video? Who fills that space?
43:30-45:45 How do you get people to overcome any negative press at Yahoo!?
45:45-47:00 What’s the most traffic a YCN article has gotten?
47:00-48:00 From the chat, Design006 asks: Any pressure from Google started a similar network?
48:00-50:30 From the chat, IrishTara asks: Can you reveal any future plans for contributors?
50:30-54:00 What was the most difficult moment in the history of Associated Content and how did you get through it?
54:00-56:00 Tyler: I’d like to hear Luke’s thoughts on AOL taking a similar approach and, when the Yahoo! talks were occurring, was there ever the option to form a partnership instead of selling?
56:00-57:30 So what’s your take on AOL?
57:30-57:45 Thanks for coming on the program Luke. Continued success. Everyone follow Luke @luke_beatty and to learn more about the YCB go to www.Contributor.Yahoo.com.
57:45-59:00 Thank you to GoToMeeting and Hiscox for sponsoring the show.
59:00-59:45 Insight from Tyler: Most mergers and acquisitions reminds me of high-fiving a blind guy.
59:45-01:00:00 Everyone be sure to watch This Week in Web Design with host Jose Caballer at 4pm PT right here.

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