I’m thrilled to announce that ReadWriteWeb has been acquired by SAY Media, a digital publishing company headquartered in San Francisco. ReadWriteWeb will anchor SAY Media’s growing Technology channel, which reaches more than 75 million global consumers each month.
ReadWriteWeb is going to get bigger and even better. Our plans include widening ReadWriteWeb’s editorial scope and expanding our team. That starts from today, with the addition of SplatF‘s Dan Frommer to our team as an editor-at-large. We will also be doing a re-design, utilizing the sophisticated designers at SAY Media. With SAY’s technology and services, we’ll be able to scale ReadWriteWeb in ways previously unavailable to us. So I’m very excited about our team joining SAY Media. We’re going to take ReadWriteWeb to the next level!
SAY Media is based in San Francisco and has offices across North America, the UK and Australia. It has many independent blogs and websites in its network, with a combined reach of more than 500 million people worldwide. ReadWriteWeb is the third blog to be acquired by SAY. The first two were Dogster in April 2011 and Remodelista in August.
It’s been an eventful and fun journey since I founded ReadWriteWeb back in April, 2003. Over that time, ReadWriteWeb has grown to be one of the biggest blogs in the world. More importantly, we’ve stuck to the site’s core goal from Day 1: provide thoughtful analysis of the latest Web technology products and trends. Along the way, we’ve had many talented people contribute to ReadWriteWeb’s growth. Chief among those is our team today, led on the business side by our COO Sean Ammirati and on the editorial side by Managing Editor Abraham Hyatt and Channels Editor David Strom.
I want to make special mention of our two longest-serving people: senior writer Marshall Kirkpatrick and webmaster Jared Smith. Marshall has been a key part of ReadWriteWeb for over 4 years now. More than anyone, he has helped me shape the editorial voice of ReadWriteWeb. Jared is a star inside ReadWriteWeb and frankly doesn’t get the external recognition he deserves.
So as you can see, ReadWriteWeb is and always will be a team effort. It’s not only our writers who are passionate about Web technology, all of our extended team lives and breathes the Web every day. So we’ll fit right in with the SAY Media team and its growing portfolio of passion-based media properties.
Here is a short video announcement, featuring myself and SAY Media CEO Matt Sanchez:
Here’s the official press release from SAY Media:
SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb
SAN FRANCISCO – Dec. 14, 2011 – SAY Media today announced it has acquired ReadWriteWeb, one of the most popular and influential technology publications in the world, to anchor its growing Technology channel that reaches more than 75 million global consumers each month. Founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus will continue to lead ReadWriteWeb as part of SAY Media’s rapidly expanding editorial team. In addition to ReadWriteWeb’s current staff, new star writers will contribute to the renowned technology publication, starting with Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief of SplatF, who will serve as editor-at-large.
“ReadWriteWeb has established itself as a leading news and analysis source for the tech community, reaching high-level business influencers and decision makers. Its editorial team is frequently sourced and considered to be one of the best in the business,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. “As we looked to acquire a property that would further strengthen our technology channel, ReadWriteWeb naturally rose to the top of the list. Richard and his team are extremely passionate about the content they create and have worked very hard to develop a deeply engaged and informed community of tech enthusiasts.”
As part of SAY Media’s portfolio of owned and operated media properties, ReadWriteWeb will take advantage of the company’s proprietary technology platform, experienced ad sales team, and world-class design expertise to scale its business to reach more technology enthusiasts and decision-makers. Under SAY’s guidance, the site will continue to evolve through design and user experience innovations that align with SAY’s Clean Campaign vision, and also expand its editorial scope to appeal to a wider array of technology consumers.
“We’re incredibly excited to be joining SAY Media and believe this partnership will help us better serve our community of readers,” said Richard MacManus, founder and editor-in-chief, ReadWriteWeb. “With SAY’s technology and services we’ll be able to scale ReadWriteWeb in ways previously unavailable to us. We’ll now be able to expand our editorial scope into relevant areas of interest and redesign the site to create a more premium experience for both our readers and advertisers.”
This acquisition will strengthen SAY’s Tech channel offering by giving brands an assortment of custom advertising opportunities that leverage the influence and authority of voices like Richard MacManus and Dan Frommer and the reach of SAY’s broader network of technology properties to connect brands with engaged audiences. Current sites in SAY Media’s Tech channel include: Android and Me, Gear Patrol, gdgt, SplatF, TechDirt and more.
“ReadWriteWeb covers the tech industry with a high level of integrity and intellectual curiosity. I can’t wait to add my voice to the site, as I report on technology trends around the world,” said Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief, SplatF and editor-at-large, ReadWriteWeb.
As SAY continues on its path to become the undisputed home of passion-based, vertical media properties, the company will continue to partner with, build and acquire sites that create quality content with a point-of-view and maintainvibrant, engaged communities.
About ReadWriteWeb
ReadWriteWeb is one of the most popular technology blogs in the world, known for offering insightful analysis about each day’s Internet industry news. ReadWriteWeb was founded in April 2003 by Richard MacManus and is now one of the most widely read and respected blogs in the world. Its readers are smart and influential decision makers. For more information visit www.readwriteweb.com.
About SAY Media
SAY Media is a digital publishing company that turns strong, culturally relevant voices into premium digital media experiences. Through its technology platform and media services, SAY enables its portfolio of independent content creators to build passionate communities around key consumer interest areas such as Style, Living, Food and Tech. The company provides simple and accountable ways for the world’s top brands to engage with these passionate audiences, at scale, with a reach of more than 500 million people around the world. SAY Media is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices across North America, in the UK and Australia. For more information visit: www.saymedia.com.