In touting Inside Network as the first service dedicated to providing news and market research to the Facebook platform, Justin Smith comes across as though he is channeling Alan Meckler.
In fact Smith may have given Meckler”™s WebMediaBrands Inc. a facelift.
Thanks partly to its May 2011 acquisition of Inside Network for a reported $14 million, WebMediaBrands increased revenue nearly 40 percent last year to $12.3 million. That was not enough to erase an $11.9 million loss for the year, however.
Among the earliest Web trade publications under its original Internet.com moniker, WebMediaBrands today runs Mediabistro, a blog and networking division, while hosting various conferences addressing emerging technologies and their impact on communications.
Thirteen years after its launch, founder Meckler still runs WebMediaBrands today, making his one of the longest tenures for a dot-com. The company has its principal offices in New York City, but also lists a 6,000-square-foot location in Norwalk as a data center and administrative office. The company keeps up on the ever-changing Web and social media universe with a workforce of just more than 70 people.
Via blogs, Twitter and yes, Facebook, Meckler remains a visible commentator on technology trends and trivia. On an early April trip to Inside Network”™s California offices, he found time to espouse briefly on Eastman Kodak, American Airlines, Virgin ”“ in fact, like the George Clooney character in “Up in the Air” he finds no small amount of time to assess the services provided frequent flyers.
As much as anything, however, Meckler saves his commentary for the online world WebMediaBrands plays in ”“ with Mediabistro winning recognition from Time magazine last month for its “GalleyCat” Twitter feed on the publishing industry.
Whether through internal development or external acquisitions, Meckler has successfully kept WebMediaBrands on the frontier of emerging communications technologies, where profits can be elusive.
In an annual report on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, WebMediaBrands disclosed it now has an accumulated deficit of $275 million. In the document, WebMediaBrands also disclosed that in 2009 Meckler extended the company a $7.2 million loan backed by a residential mortgage in his name, then made a second loan last November in the amount of $1.8 million.
On his Twitter feed, Meckler stated that WebMediaBrands had a deal in place to acquire Mashable, the social networking news and tips site, without providing any additional details on why the deal did not go through.
Only three years before Smith bootstrapped Inside Network into existence with no venture capital funding, with the company also tracking social gaming and mobile applications.
In late March, WebMediaBrands and Inside Network launched a social media news feed, which he touted as the first and only one of its kind.
As much as anyone, Meckler has taken an interest in Facebook”™s pending initial public offering of stock. Entering April, WebMediaBrand”™s own stock was trading around $1 a share, more than double its price at the start of the year but well below its levels of April 2011. The company stated in late March it is considering a reverse stock split to get back into compliance with minimum share price levels on the Nasdaq.
Meckler thinks Inside Network is well on its way to getting WebMediaBrands on the inside track for sustained growth.
“What is good for Facebook is great for WebMediaBrands,” he tweeted.
