It was perhaps ironic that Alan Meckler alerted the world via the Twitter messaging service ”“ or at least some 1,150 people who subscribe to his Twitter feed ”“ that he had sold off his Internet.com web sites to a Silicon Valley company.
After all, long before the mainstream traded happenings on Twitter, the nerds that made the service possible were doing the same on Internet.com.
For $18 million in cash, Meckler”™s WebMediaBrands Inc. is selling its Internet.com sites for information technology professionals to QuinStreet Inc. The move will end the CEO”™s association with an early online destination site for IT pros and continue an overhaul of his pioneering company once based in Darien.
Known as Jupitermedia until February, WebMediaBrands sold off its online images catalog this year for nearly $100 million to Getty Images Inc.
The company concurrently relocated its headquarters from Darien to New York City, where it continues to run the MediaBistro.com and Graphics.com sites.
After a 1999 initial public offering of stock, Jupitermedia rapidly built out a range of how-to and news web sites, including the Internetnews.com sites in New York City, Boston, Silicon Valley and other IT industry clusters.
In late 2004 Jupitermedia started a rollup of several image companies, taking on readily available bank debt to finance purchases rather than issue stock. With the benefit of hindsight, Meckler said he wished he had issued stock instead, as the company came under pressure amid changing industry and economic dynamics.
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“We jumped into what proved to be a debt hornet”™s nest,” Meckler, stated in a blog entry earlier this year. “Little did I know that a combination of the growth of user-generated content photos sites and a bad economy would make our debt a terrible burden ”¦ I was slow to realize that user-generated content in the image space was certain to destroy large parts of the traditional stock photo industry.”
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While many CEOs have web sites for blog entries, few blog with the candor of Meckler.
“I worked like a dog for nearly 15 months and was able to pay off $81 million of bank debt,” Meckler wrote. “At the end of the process and in the worst economic times this country has witnessed in 80 years, I found dealing with the banks an ordeal. Even as the banks were about to get their money back, they threw curve balls at us and showed an unwillingness to give (an) inch on any help that was requested. I actually thought our paying off the debt was heroic, but one would never have detected this in dealing with our bankers.”
WebMediaBrands”™ revenue from continuing operations totaled $5.8 million in the second quarter, down $3.1 million from the same period a year ago. The company reported a $1.2 million loss.
Meckler continues to express enthusiasm about the prospects for Mediabistro.com, directed at media industry professionals, and Graphics.com, which targets the graphic design industry. He hinted that he will consider making acquisitions in wherever he sees a good opportunity ”“ mindful of the shifting fortunes of the Internet.
“I wonder how Getty Images is doing after they bought our Jupiterimages?” Meckler mused in a Tweet following the QuinStreet announcement. “Good for Getty that they are not public.”
