Fair question:
While I really don't know their overall strategy, i am comfortable in commenting from my POV. They obviously got to know me and know well my views that community comes first and I'm not inclined to monetize FT much more than to cover its costs. The fact that they really wanted me to stay around for four years sort of proves to me that they aren't interested in making that many changes to FT right away and maybe not much over the next four years. What they may see is the tremendous traffic that FlyerTalk has and by perhaps spilling some of that traffic over time to their other Web sites, that may be how this all works out for them. They've got a few good sites and my guess is that they will get much better over time. WikiTravel is an amazing resource and I think members of FT should be pleased to have such a relative as that.
I can say this. One of the major reasons I was so comfortable with Internet Brands and while they are a corporation, they are really entrepreneurial in nature. I really hit it off with the head guy, Bob Brisco and he's quite the flexible guy. I'm sure I drove them crazy in the conversations we had because I don't talk "the business," I talk the topic of the power of the Internet, the community of travelers, the things i like about FlyerTalk, etc.
Anyway, I really don't see any changes on the horizon. Besides, the deal was done over a month ago and have you noticed anything different?
Originally Posted by
Canarsie
I suppose this leads me to the next question, to which you may not know the answer:
Companies do not buy an entity of any kind simply as a hobby.
This leads me to believe that Internet Brands sees the ability to potentially profit from FlyerTalk either directly or indirectly — otherwise, they would not have acquired FlyerTalk. After all, Internet Brands certainly does not have the emotional interest and investment in FlyerTalk that you have, Randy.
If the first break-even year was last year, what changes does Internet Brands have in mind for FlyerTalk to ensure that it is profitable for them? Or, does Internet Brands see FlyerTalk as a way of augmenting and increasing the value of their other holdings? Perhaps it is a combination of both scenarios?