CNET Shakeup - Dan Farber's In Charge

Premier Tech news website CNET has a new editor in chief. Dan Farber takes over today, and as a tech journalist *and prominent tech blogger* the choice of Farber is smart for CNET and a sign that blogging sensibilities are playing an important role even in “legacy” media outlets. Of course it is more than a bit inappropriate to consider CNET - a groundbreaking online news network - a legacy media enterprise but in the rocket-paced online world CNET is ... aging fast.

Most of us now turn to TechMeme or TechCrunch or other fast paced blog sources before CNET for breaking and insider news. Partly for this reason and partly because CNET can’t leverage internet efficiencies as easily as leaner and meaner sites like TechCrunch, CNETs traffic and profitability has been suffering for some time.

Farber’s experience may help to bring more innovative approaches to blogging tech news at CNET, and Dan will recognize how important it is to work to establish a social network that revolves around CNET’s tech coverage. Mike Arrington has done this brilliantly at TechCrunch and it drives their very successful efforts, as has Om Malik at GigaOM. Sites like DailyKos and Huffington report are other examples of new media leveraging social forces very effectively both in terms of content and profitability . In addition to these large sites, many others have built smaller communities around their blogs with more modest levels of success.

CNET already has a brand and a large body of quality journalistic experience and tech related content. Let’s see what Dan does with all that, and if he can help turn around a great internet information institution.