I didn’t see this one coming. Ziff Davis is Chapter 11… with over $225 Million in debt.
For those of you too young to remember (and I have to start saying that), Ziff Davis at one point was king of all technological media. They had a near monopoly on Mac newsprint, and the online media was a major growth area for them.
But, it’s pretty clear why they’re in so much trouble. Their web sites have some of the worst navigation of any member of the media. They’ve bought up a ton of bloggers… but nobody can find them (unless you already dug them up and landed a bookmark). Apple villain Jason O’Grady has a blog on ZDNet now… can you find it? Have fun Googling.
ZDNet would have been much better off acquiring bloggers and news sites, and branding them as their own. I assure you, PhoneNews.com is making more money than ZDNet’s mobile blog (mobile blog? I’m not even sure they have one… can’t find it).
My point is, you have to stay dynamic. You have to change with the times. ZDNet didn’t do that, and now they’re Chapter 11.