Giga Omni Media recently bought jkOnTheRun, and now they’re spending some more money in the blogosphere, adding none other than The Apple Blog to their network. This is another great call, in my opinion, since The Apple Blog has a nice voice and is a great source of Apple news. In fact, it has been in my feed reader since before I even got my Mac, and that says a lot. Owner Josh Pigford says this in an announcement post:
I’m honored for The Apple Blog to be a part of such a solid group of publications, and really look forward to where The Apple Blog will go in the coming months and years. I’ll be staying on board with the transition as will a number of our great contributors.
He also promises that there won’t be any radical changes, just more of everything, which is nice.
Naturally, Om Malik comments on the acquisition as well:
A blog that is closest to our way of thinking turned out to be TheAppleBlog, one that I have been reading for a while. In Josh we found someone who shares the same vision — restraint in editorial and a desire to provide utility for the readers. So here we are, making this announcement.
He also points out that the Giga Omni Media team doesn’t want to mess with a working formula, and not “muck around with the editorial” as he puts it. This seems to be true for jkOnTheRun, and shouldn’t be an issue with The Apple Blog either, although it is of course too early to tell. Also, Om says this:
As part of our focus, TheAppleBlog is going to ramp up its coverage of iPhone and related applications, devices and add-ons. Combining news analysis with consumer-focused reviews, I think we can build a great franchise.
A great call for Giga Omni Media, great news for Josh and The Apple Blog, and possibly yet another sign of things to come, with strong stand-alone online brands being formed into loose networks, as opposed to a more controlled approach in branding and design by the likes of b5media? What do you think?
Disclosure: I’m currently writing a story for GigaOm as a freelancer. I was not informed about the acquisition through that contact, though.
