Louis Borders Eyes Paid Content Launch of KeepMedia
Long under wraps, the erstwhile Spyglass Media folks under the tutelage of former bookstore magnate Louis Borders are nearing the launch of KeepMedia, a portal and related content delivery technology that is to provide paid access to archived issues of about 140 major magazine titles, according to The Wall Street Journal. The theory goes that consumers will want to purchase content from reputable sources, thus avoiding questionable content from search engine results. Is this Contentville II, as mused by PaidContent.org? The timing is certainly better than that ill-fated effort that gave the official kiss of death to most VC-funded content startups, but KeepMedia faces many of the same fundamental issues as to what makes something a content capability versus a content product that will appeal to individual consumers in venues that they value. Partnering with the publishers that stock the service is one rational approach that seems to be in the KeepMedia mix already, but KeepMedia will have to look further afield for established online partners and into institutional markets to give the concept the necessary framework for full financial success.