Analyse the competitive position of the DC Thomson social network websites using currently available facts and your own knowledge of recent developments by other social networking sites.
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DC Thomson is a privately-owned Scottish company operating as a rather traditional, newspaper and
(down-market) magazine publisher, with (according to the Financial Times) a secretive culture. In recent
years the parent company’s advertising revenues have declined, circulation on some magazines has
reduced and it has closed a printing works. By 2007 it had embarked on a process of updating and
expanding its portfolio of business activities through internet services, via a subsidiary called Brightsolid,
formerly Scotland Online (founded 1995). In the year to March 2007 Brightsolid incurred a net loss of
almost £2 million on sales of £4.66 million. A new chief executive Chris van der Kuyl, who described
himself as a ‘digital media entrepreneur’ joined in October 2007. The declared intent was to develop a
profitable business beyond niche market genealogy services (FindMyPast.co.uk) in online and hosting
services for the financial, oil and gas sectors. The subsequent acquisition of FR could suggest
unwarranted opportunism and a reaffirmation of intent to maintain both consumer and business-to-
business (B2B) activities.
In short, the competitive position of the DC Thomson parent company seems comparatively weak,
dependent on the Scottish market with an ‘old media’ portfolio of regional newspapers and tired
magazine titles. Its foray into web services remained unprofitable in 2009. D.C. Thomson’s apparent lack
of progress in (and arguably, poor understanding of and capabilities to run) the ‘new media’ may be
compounded by a misguided belief that it can succeed concurrently in consumer social network websites
and professional web services. While the core technological knowledge may be the same, they are very
different propositions with no obvious marketing synergies. The US-owned Ancestry website poses a
significant threat to Brightsolid’s genealogy offerings, being better known and much better resourced.
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