Now Reading
A Word From the New Blog Herald Owners

A Word From the New Blog Herald Owners

A pleasant day to y’all.

You may be aware that the Blog Herald has recently been sold–and much has been said in the few hours after Matt Craven has made the announcement. Sure enough, the fact that Matt indicated that “the new owners have chosen to remain undisclosed for the time being” has raised a lot of questions.

Well, to clear things up, I would like to introduce the new owners of the Blog Herald–Bloggy Network Ltd., a UK-based company (not to be confused with Bloggy Network, LLC). Today, December 5th, 2006, is the day that we legally become owners of BlogHerald.com, and our contract with Problogging Inc. takes effect.

We will be running the Blog Herald separately from the rest of our network.

We appreciate that, being a very young blog network, we have much to learn, and we understand that running the Blog Herald is by no means a small feat, as many people look up to the Herald as a premier source of news and commentary on the blogging industry. We hope to keep up with the Herald’s tradition of high standards and interactivity, building on the foundations established by Duncan Riley and further refined by Problogging Inc.

What’s in store for the Blog Herald?

We have big dreams and plans for the Blog Herald, which we will be sharing with you in the coming days, weeks and months. Of course, we need your help on this, as we would be going nowhere without the support and feedback from our readers.

See Also
Microsoft Solutions

In line with this, we have asked the current set of writers to stay with the Herald, to keep with the continuity and high standards of writing. We hope to be able to renew their contracts and bring in more writers this coming January.

Thanks and kudos

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Matt Craven for all his help during our purchase of BlogHerald.com. He has been the consummate professional and gentleman. Matt has generously offered to personally assist while we transfer the site to our servers, and to help manage the site until then. Matt shall likewise stay on board the Blog Herald as a contributor.

Finally, we would also like to thank you, dear readers, for supporting the Herald so far. We hope you bear with us during this transitional period. It might take us a while to learn the ropes, so please feel free to drop us a (life)line at theblogherald [at] gmail.com (temporary, until we transfer the site to our server).

View Comments (48)
  • Congratulations and it’s great news the writers are staying on. I look forward to seeing how things go- best of luck.

  • Congrats. I had my suspicions from doing a little digging, but I’m glad Bloggy ID’d themselves and didn’t make myself or someone else do it for you. Your bloggers deserve to know who signs their paychecks. Thanks for being up front.

  • I still can’t figure it out. Why on earth did you guys decide to start a network with the exact same name as mine almost a year after mine had been established? Sheesh :P

  • What? November 20? I’d thikn Jacob would have an appeal since he’s been around a lot longer.

    It’s not my issue anyway but I hardly think you have the legal resources to make it an issue.

  • I have no problem taking this private. I’ve sent several e-mails before with no response. That’s the only reason I brought it up now.

  • Okay, Jacob- please email me at the above address and let’s see if we can sort something out, as this is the first time I have heard from anyone in your group.

  • Congrats. And is it a surprise that somehow I am not surprised?

    Anyway I am glad that both sides are happy and hope TBH will stay this great site. :)

  • I’d really love to see how you work that trademark dispute out. Cuz its really confusing considering both Bloggy Networks have blogging news sites.

    Mark,
    Likewise how can you own a trademark on something when in fact you started something later than someone else with the same name. It would be like me starting a YouTube today and thinking I could get away with it.

    Also do you think you should disclose that some of your writer(s) also work for the other Bloggy Network? Do you see a potential conflict of interest on that front. As one of your people also works for BloggingPro, the other blogging news site?

  • I’m not a lawyer but…

    It is ironic that both BloggyNetwork.com and Bloggy-Network.com have copyrighted the same name.

    —-a Story—-

    I once came across a Subway in my town that wasn’t owned by the Subway franchise. I wondered “How could that be?”

    I soon learned that the store “Subway” (which sells subs sandwiches) came out before the franchise Subway and soon they were at each other throats in court.

    Since Judges generally loathe civil disputes of this matter, it was decided (at least what I’ve been told) that neither had to change…and life went on.

    —-end Story—-

    I think I now see why their was a hesitation to reveal your true identity (it would be like Googles.com buying out a search company, then telling their new employees that they work for…them.

    Either way, I hope both of you work it out. I mean if Darren over at Problogger.net can be cool with Matt over at Problogger.com, then their may be some leg room over here.

  • Hmm .. I was never confused between the BloggyNetwork.com and the Bloggy-Network.com before .. Mind you .. when I first realized there were different people, I was going to go out and register Bloggy–Network.com and Bloggy—Network.com .. but decided against it :)

    J/k

    Good Luck with this venture Abe or Mark or whoever you are (the Bloggy-Network.com group) … I like the current set of blogger/contributors and hope they stick around for a while!

    I must say .. given the history of the sites you have scooped recently .. JOAB, Biziki and that gadget blog .. I don’t think I am surprised ..

  • […]They are now known to be Bloggy Network, Ltd. (not Bloggy Network, LLC). The new owners are based in the UK and have stated they are going to run the site separately from the rest of their network, which is a smart move in my opinion.[…]

    I think there is a dispute here that needs to be resolved. I will be keeping a close eye on this as it may affect the entire blogging and new media industries.

  • I can see neither Mark, nor the editors are willing to comment on my above comment. Or are consulting their legal team. Either way, its a huge reason IMO why you you’d want to keep your ownership quiet and a touch misleading.

    Just my opinion.

  • Trademarks are generally based on geography, so one company might have a trademark for the UK or EU, while another might have registered the same term in the USA. Confusing, but entirely possible. A trademark is owned by the first company to apply for it and be successful – it’s as easy as that. Appeal procedures do exist but applications should really have been opposed in the first place. Good luck to both!

  • I wish I knew all the legalities behind naming of sites etc. especially as it pertains to different companies. I would image starting a business with the same name as a big name U.S. company somewhere they aren’t yet set up would be against copyright and trademarks but I wonder how?

  • Congratulations!

    To the owners of this Network. I personally Thank you for making this business possible. You give opportunities to lots of people who seeks wellness in life. You make the dreams of other people come true.

    To the writers also, I congratulate you for your continous contributions.

    More Power MARK!

  • @ David

    *I’d like to stress that TBH will be run independently of the BNLtd. Hence, the new editors of TBH do not have direct affiliations with BNLtd.

    I believe the issue about copyright is best left between the companies to sort out. I’m sure both parties can meet somewhere in the middle.

  • I will be keeping a close eye on this as it may affect the entire blogging and new media industries.

    Ummm, no. The “ENTIRE BLOGGING… INDUSTRIES”?

    Hardly

    This is an issue between two companies.

    Matt

  • Sounds like the “problogging consulting 101” contract started and is going by the book

    (1) Speculation 101 (why won’t they show themselves?)
    (2) Controversy (name similarities issue)

    What was (3) Again? I’ll have to read it in the new site and watch this space! lol

  • I am in communication with Jacob and believe that the best way to sort it out is privately. But this is certainly not the reason why we did not disclose our identity prior to yesterday. That was a legal decision- waiting for the contract to come into effect. I’m sorry if that upset some people, esp. the current writers- it was playing it perhaps too safe. You can blame me 100%. But it was only some 24 hours from Matt’s announcement on Dec. 4th. I also feel that it is important that BH remains an independent site. That is why I brought in Abe, who isn’t affiliated with the bloggy-network and will only be working here at BH and given a free rein. And that is why I also feel that I should take a back seat and not be involved in BH day-to-day, unless I absolutely have to. Abe is able to make all management decisions, just as Matt has done in the past. And re: your two points, David, re: trademarks, it’s not as simple as “who was first”, although common sense might suggest that. I can send you some legal links if you’re interested. And re: bloggers needing to be “exclusive” to one network- that’s a good point and maybe one I should consider. I guess if the blogger has integrity, it’s no problem. Do you ask your bloggers to be “exclusive”?

  • Yay for the new owners and staff- it’s always good to learn about new ventures and fresh writing! I’ve subscribed, and am looking forward to reading more. Good luck, all.

  • Regardless of the legal ramifications it’s just confusing for users and readers, and I’m with Krug on this one — why pick it to begin with? Why even bother?

  • I have 2nd thoughts on this BN ltd. Is it a Filipino owned Company based in the UK? As everyone knows,you can be incorporated in major countries nowadays say Nevada, Delaware,HK,Singapore or UK Virtually online and use a a $2 -$5 Dollars direct inward dialing (DID) VOIP virtual number/per month with unlimited incoming calls included in thae city where you are virtually incorporated and receive unlimited incoming calls that is forwarded to anywhere in the world you have your Voip Ipphone or Adapter.So Mark Saunders? if you can be more open Please tell us your office in the UK and I will ask my Brother who is a Lawyer in the UK to visit your office location and know more about your business as you have not activated the about us in you official website which is a bit fishy and raise a lot of questions.You have many sites and all complete but the about us is under construction!!!

  • Mike- I agree, it’s confusing. I wish it hadn’t happened like this and it was an innocent development, i.e: I was developing a series of “bloggy” sites prior to anyone having a network called “Bloggy”. I tried to buy bloggy.com, for instance, from Barry. So call me an ignorant fool, but this was not a malicious act. Jacob seems happier with the status quo than me, where he can publically bash us and take the moral high ground, despite me offering to a) sell him my domain or b) me to buy his. You know what they say..”never complain, never explain..”. In conclusion, one way or another, I will take action on this- either to enforce the trademark, or to bow out and lose- & fight for another day. One thing I have decided to do is to form a separate company for BH, so that it is legally, as well as nominally, independent from these problems.

Scroll To Top