Wetpaint
 | |
Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet technology (2006–present) |
| Founded | October 2005 |
| Headquarters | New York City, U.S. |
| Products | Technology platforms for the media industry; formerly wiki hosting |
| Revenue | Venture capital funded |
| Owner | Function(X) |
Number of employees | 65 |
| Website | www.wetpaint.com |
Wetpaint is an internet company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Function(X). Founded in 2005, Wetpaint both publishes the website Wetpaint Entertainment, focused on entertainment news, and develops a proprietary technology platform, the Social Distribution System, that is used to provide analytics for its own website as well as other online publishers'. Wetpaint began as a wiki farm, hosting wikis using its own proprietary software, before moving into hosting of professional content in 2010. Wetpaint's wiki-hosting component was spun off completely in 2013 after being purchased by Wikifoundry.[1]
History
Wetpaint was originally called Wikisphere, and begun as a wiki farm, hosting wikis using proprietary software. It was co-founded in October 2005 by Ben Elowitz, who had previously co-founded the online jewelry retailer Blue Nile Inc. In December 2005, the company and site were renamed to Wetpaint.[2] In October 2005, the company received its initial A round of venture capital funding of US$5.25 million from Trinity Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures.[3] Wetpaint closed a US$9.5 million 'B' round of funding in January 2007, adding Accel Partners to the list of investors.[4] Wetpaint closed a Series C round of venture capital funding of US$25 million in May 2008. Investors included Accel Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Frazier Technology Ventures.
Wetpaint was named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Best Websites of 2007.[5]
In March 2008, Wetpaint added social networking features.[6]
In July 2009, Wetpaint laid off 15 of their 56 employees.[7] An additional 9 employees, including co-founders Kevin Flaherty and Alex Berg, were laid off in December.[8] The company also decided to refocus the website on professionally created content. Both steps were taken as a result of declining online ad revenue.[8]
During late 2009, Wetpaint re-launched its main homepage, at wetpaint.com, as the Wetpaint Entertainment platform, a set of new online TV fan destination sites, geared toward the female 18-34 demographic.[9] The wiki farm was renamed "Wikis by Wetpaint", and was moved to the domain wetpaintcentral.com.
In December 2010, the company announced the Wetpaint Social Distribution System.[10]
In December 2012, Wetpaint was acquired by Viggle,[11] an entertainment rewards platform, which was shortly renamed to its former name, Function(X).
References
^ Wet Paint Wiki - WikiFoundry Central, 2013-09-01, retrieved 2017-10-25.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Startup Wikisphere changes its name to Wetpaint". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2005-12-01.
^ Cook, John (2005-11-02). "Startup Wikisphere raises $5.25 million in 1st round". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
^ "Wiki Providers Score Funding". Red Herring. 2007-02-22.
^ "Wetpaint.com - 50 Best Websites 2007". Time Magazine. 2007-07-09.
^ "Wetpaint Goes Social". press release. Wetpaint. 2008-03-10. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
^ "Seattle Layoff Update:Targeted Genetics, Wetpaint, Google, and Others Cut Staff". xconomy. 2009-08-26.
^ ab "Exclusive: Wetpaint cuts staff, changes focus to publishing". John Cook, TechFlash. 2009-12-04.
^ Wetpaint Launches Online TV Fan Destination With Coverage Of This Fall's Most Anticipated TV Programs
^ "Wetpaint Entertainment Rapidly Becomes a Leading Online Entertainment News Source Due to Wetpaint's Proprietary Social Distribution System".
^ "Viggle Acquires Wetpaint". Press Release. 2013-12-16.
External links
- Official website
