More on Thomas/FindWhat deal

Here is some analysis from InfoCommerce Report on the deal, from their weekly newsletter:

ICR wondered why Thomas has set up a joint venture instead of just licensing FindWhat's technology, and after further research, it became clear that this announcement is much bigger than it might seem. What Thomas and FindWhat are planning to do, in effect, is create a specialized version of FindWhat for the global industrial market. The new venture plans to set up a network of distribution partner sites in the same way that FindWhat has built a network of mass market consumer sites.

What we've got here is two huge developments rolled up in one: a major directory publisher moving to the pay per click model, and the launch of a specialized business-to-business pay-per-click network This is an innovative and aggressive response by a directory publisher to the pay-per-click phenomenon, which has adversely impacted most advertising-based directory publishers.

True students of database marketing will find the link at the end of this article useful in understanding the (pdf) different business models for selling database info.