Over the next two months, Gather.com will roll out a series of partnerships with a diverse collection of companies, ranging from Sony to PW, to populate its nine content channels. Gather Essentials—the name for the site's nine branded categories, which are divided into topics like Books, Food and Health—will rely on weekly content provided by the partners plus exclusive Web chats with the companies' experts.
Allowing the site's membership—which, according to the company currently sits at 191,000 (with a median age of 43)—to speak with authors or, in the case of PW, insiders who cover the industry, highlights the fact, said Gather founder and CEO Tom Gerace, that "in social media, the social is as important as the media." Speaking to the deal with PW, Gerace said he expects Gather members, many of whom are book lovers and/or aspiring authors, will be interested in discussing the inner workings of the business as well as getting tips on what to read. PW publisher David Nudo said the partnership will allow the magazine's experts to "not only share what they discover, but learn about what book lovers think worldwide and want to know."
While PW will focus on content for the Books channel, McGraw-Hill will supply content and experts for the Money channel; Harvard Health Publications for the Health channel; and Columbia Records for the Music channel. Gerace said that additional "anchor tenant relationships" with other companies are in the works.
