Two years in
A progress report on The Rebooting
This week, I’m taking a look back at two years of building The Rebooting and some ideas on what’s next. First a message from Outbrain, which has a new monetization platform for publishers called Keystone.
There’s more to discover across the open web. As publishers build for the long-term, Outbrain is a total business partner to help them drive sustainable revenue and deeper editorial engagement.
Our latest innovation, Keystone by Outbrain™, uses Outbrain's optimization technology to support every publisher business initiative — driving better outcomes across subscriptions, podcasts, events, and more. Learn how we’re empowering publishers to diversify revenue across their unique business goals while providing the best user experience for consumers who depend on them.
The independent path
One of the nice parts of newsletter independent publishing trend is that it has coincided with this idea of “building in public” that trades the tradition of secrecy for transparency. I never understood why publishing businesses were so secretive about what they do and the results. There aren’t many secrets; it’s mostly a game of execution.
Back in October 2020, I was leaving my job of a decade and figuring out what I wanted to do next. I knew I wanted to take an independent path and start a new publication focused on building sustainable media businesses, using my experience both covering the industry for many years and as president of Digiday Media. I found it a good match for my experience and also something that’s societally important. What I wanted to find out was:
- Could I make a product I found rewarding and needed?
- Would the people operating media businesses find it useful?
- Is there a business model in doing this?
Two years in, I’m confident the answer is yes on all three. Here’s the progress report:
