I've been pushing the idea of the microbeat for awhile now. I love the idea of reporters using blogs as a way to dive deeper into a subject -- creating a "publication" that covers an issue or company in a way that no traditional product could.
Standalone journalists have led the way, creating blog-based products that cover a single company rather than an entire industry. Check out this early trendsetter about Netflix, for example.
Some magazines have launched similar microniche products. For example, I'm a big fan of what Wired magazine has done in this area.
Today comes word that AOL is moving into the microbeat world in a major way. Take a look at BloggingStocks.com, a series of blogs that cover single companies.
I have to offer my congratulations to AOL on this. I expect these new blogs will generate a sizable audience. Few issues generate as much passion as investing. And personal-finance sites have a history of attracting active users.
That's not to say I'm thrilled with what I've seen in the first few posts at BloggingStocks. AOL has adopted a team approach to the beats. And I much prefer single-writer blogs. Nonetheless, AOL deserves congratulations for this. And I'll keep checking in to watch how the beats develop.
(Click here to take a look at what Businessweek says about the new AOL blogs.)
tags: journalism, b2b, media, trade press, magazines, newsletters, conversational media, business media
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