Just a couple of clarifications. On average our active users average about 450 page impressions per month. Some are much higher as they come in every day to check and amend their portfolio (and off course some are a lot lower).

Do people get bored of the game? We’ve found that once a user builds up a portfolio they stick around. News provides evergreen content so there is never any shortage of things to predict on.

No we aren’t relying on advertising to make it to profitability and lastly, Eric is right about Compete, for us it is somewhat directly correct but it significantly undercounts.

What we’ve found is that the more niche the content, the more likely you’ll be able to monetize it in meaningful ways. That should not come as a surprise to anyone. What HubDub is doing in excellent fashion is building a platform, which has business model opportunities beyond communities and traffic. VCs aren’t as interested in vast traffic that hits the lowest common denominator – unless it makes money, which is rare. The partnering HD is doing is smart, and opens up new opportunities to hit valuable verticals.

I, for one, am rooting for Nigel and team big time. The more mainstream prediction markets become, the better for all of our businesses.

On a side note, don’t depend too heavily on Compete.com for your data. Our December numbers actually beat November, and are all much higher than what Compete tracks across the board. January is currently on track to be one of our biggest months, which Compete will likely not get right, either.

The problem comes as the lines between editorial and community become more and more blurred and advertisers don’t feel they’re getting environment anymore (yes, people still pay for this!).

@ Jim, does it matter if the novelty wears off, there’s plenty more users out there. You just move onto the next product when your current one stops offering value.

However, as a core human need is to learn/be informed, users already have a compelling reason to visit the publisher’s site- this can just be perceived as a bonus/extra engagement for sites that only traditionally offer community in the form of commenting.

People are going to spend 3 hours a month making predictions on these pressing issues of the day? After the novelty wears off are people going to continue coming back to sites like these?

They plan on becoming profitable on ad revenue alone?

Good write up. Well done to all at HubDub!