Back on the block

I’m back from a fairly lengthy vacation and a period of hunkering down that followed, including some focus on preparing a semi-official “launch” of SKS Advisors later this month. After a few weeks in Italy, tuning back in to the industry took more than a little knob-fiddling. At least through my particular lens, it seems that two themes have predominated (in terms of overall impact on the industry, if not sheer volume of coverage): the turn in the financial markets that is likely to slow the pace of private equity players’ taking ownership of the information industry; and the industry’s ongoing dalliance (courtship? impending marriage?) with social media.

No need to add to the tsunami of coverage of the Dow Jones deal – except to add a small footnote to the effect that tightening credit may have played a role in keeping other potential acquirers (e.g. Burkle, but also Apax et. al.) on the sidelines. Before I “tuned out,” there was beginning to be speculation about PE players’ potential to ingest some of the big players in multi-course meals. I haven’t come across any suggestions like that since returning, though. Thomson-Reuters may be large enough to maintain public ownership in any case. And Wolters Kluwer divisions, to name a perennial candidate, may still be ripe for taking private. But certainly the pace now seems likely to slow considerably, and that may place more pressure on the established players to increase value the old-fashioned way (organic growth).

Otherwise, the focus in the B2B world on social networking/social media/user-generated content seems to be intensifying on every level. If you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed a flurry of new Facebook “friends.” Some of the most “wired” commentators are already feeling overwhelmed by it all, especially when the business value of most popular widgets is questionable at best. And considerable speculation on what Facebook and similar phenomena might represent in business terms for the “high-value-content” sector. I thought one of the best was Barry Graubart’s suggestion of industry-specific social networking applications.  But should we expect to wait for that to come from the likes of Facebook and LinkedIn, or, as Russell Perkins just remarked to me, from publishers that already serve and understand their industries? Surely some (outside of IT, where it is already happening) will grasp this grail.

Speaking of IT, imho the most under-appreciated deal of the summer may be Corporate Executive Board’s acquisition of IT Toolbox. This transaction moves CEB strongly into the IT space , where its membership model has clear opportunities, and provides a platform for extending the UGC model to other vertical/horizontal niches already served. It’s a deal that should shake up the IT trade publishers, IT market researchers, and B2B social networking providers - a trifecta!