So what exactly is this venture and how successful has it been? Well, the basic premise behind The One Big Network is that some people are experts on some particular topic, and rather than express that expertise in writing, they can express their expertise by discerning the best sites on the topic and creating a one stop shop for all the best information in that niche. So then, anyone who’s interested in that topic only has to go to one website to see all the latest news.

To make the idea a little more concrete, check out some examples of sites that are currently live:

OneBigJihad is a site that monitors Islamic extremism and its interaction with the West.

OneBigGadget is a site that covers technology and gadget related information.

OneBigPokerNut is a site that covers the latest news and commentary in the world of poker.

OneBigSport is a site that covers a wide array of sports related blogging.

So those are just a few examples of OneBig sites. The hope is that as the network grows, we can allow everyday people buy into the network for only $250 and run their own OneBig site. As the network grows, so grows the opportunity for ad revenue.

Ok. We launched this thing in October. Has it been successful? Yes and no. It’s not been successful in the sense that growth has been much slower than we expected, but this can be attributed to changes in the search engine algorithms that make new site entry a much more challenging process. It’s been successful in the sense that we have some really interesting sites in the network. It’s also been successful because all the sites in the network now have PageRank and some are monetizing at about $40/month. That’s not a bad return on investment if you think about it. If the first-generation of OneBig sites can show proof of profit within one year, then we expect that this will serve to convince others to join the network as well.

So stay tuned!