This is another important moment in digital that will fly under the radar. Despite relatively minimal coverage and discussion around this acquisition, it marks a pivotal shift in publisher economics–one that serves as a central thesis of 2PM:
Senator Lindsey Graham peered over to Zuckerberg and asked if Facebook held a “monopoly” on the social networking market, to which Zuckerberg replied, “It certainly doesn’t feel like that to me.” But no, Facebook does not have a direct competitor. And for agencies and brands, there are implications to consider.
The word commerce was a dirty one in the media space, until recently. One of 2PM’s capstone beliefs is that commerce is the central engine of the digital economy. That may seem to be reasonable now. But consider that just two years ago, fewer than ten digital publishers maintained direct to consumer storefronts. Many will point to JackThreads and Thrillist, so here is the clipping from May 2010 for reference:
