• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 17, 2009

“Can technology save publishing” is the theme of he last panel of the day at OMMA Publish, but the discussion is focused right now on the divergent values gleaned by premium, brand oriented publishing content vs. the kind you can buy off non-premium advertising networks. Yahoo’s Jacob Ross said that right now, the differential is about 17 times. To which, Microsoft’s Harrison Magun said, “If I were a 25-year-old media planner, do I want to spend 17 times as much as I could on an advertising network? What’s the value proposition. Or, to put it another way, how long before I’m fired.”

Well, when you put it that way…

That said, Magun noted that the value premium publishers bring is more than just the “audience,” but the “connection” they create with that audience.

“It’s about the connection. If I were a publisher, I would look at ways to develop connections that will engage an audience,” he suggested.