Publishing What the World a Search Engine Wants

Thrown into the spotlight by Google’s recently declared update targeting the practice of content farming,  so-called info factories and their presence online is impossible to ignore. And for freelancers looking for a reliable source of income, however modest, the work they offer can be enticing.

Part of the February 27 episode of CBC’s Sunday Edition was devoted to one company whose name is becoming synonymous with content farming. Until recently, Demand Media hasn’t grabbed many headlines, but it has made a whole lot of cash.  Its army of freelancers write short service-journalism articles — about topics generated by an algorithm — that attract scores of visitors to the company’s sites (with some help from search-engine optimization).

In Sunday Edition host Michael Enright’s hair-raising intro and Ira Basen’s first-person documentary,  the following facts about Demand Media emerge:

Listen to the full segment here. [Intro begins at 1:15 and documentary at 3:00.]

Posted on March 1, 2011 at 9:00 am by editor · · Tagged with: , , , ,

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