BetaNews is online-only technology news publication based in
Reston,
Virginia, located on the web at www.betanews.com. Launched in
1998, the site originally posted news in a blog-like format before
switching to a traditional online news format in the early part of
this decade.
Stories from the site have been cited and
referenced in
Reuters,
the
Wall Street Journal, and
New York Times. A
content syndication agreement, though inactive, is in place with
Ziff Davis
Media.
While originally the site aimed to cover "beta news,"
the increasingly blurred line and popularity of betas began to
muddy the sites niche. While it still focuses on emerging
technologies, the articles are similar to those found on sites such
as
eWeek,
CNET News.com, and other
general tech news sites.
Latest user statistics indicate that
the site receives approximately 12 million hits per month. It's
target audience is 25-35 year old technology enthusiasts, but it
says it attracts a "wide range of students, industry professionals,
and corporate executives."
In 2000, BetaNews became part of
eFront, an affiliate
marketing company. The collapse of eFront in 2001 nearly took the
news site with it, however following the company's collapse several
of the original BetaNews employees reformed the site and
repurchased the rights to the site.
The site has gone through
one major design revision, that being in 2001, which is still the
design used by the site today. Another revision is said to be in
the works during 2007.
One of the more recognizable aspects of
BetaNews is FileForum, located at www.fileforum.com. Approximately
25,000 active titles are available, and its front page indicates
users have downloaded files from the site over 186 million times,
with Spybot Search and Destroy the top file.
The company employs
at least four known writers presently: Nate Mook, Scott Fulton, Ed
Oswald, and Tim Connealy.
No financial data on the company is
available, as it is a private company.