The Daily Dot
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital media, Internet culture |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Founder | Nicholas White |
| Headquarters | Austin , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Nicholas White (Founder) |
| Products | News articles, video content, e-commerce (branded video content, online marketplace) |
Number of employees | 76 full-time staff (2016) |
| Website | www |
The Daily Dot is a digital media enterprise dedicated to covering Internet culture and the broader World Wide Web. Established in 2011 by entrepreneur Nicholas White, its main office is located in Austin, Texas.
Described as the Internet’s "hometown newspaper," the platform reports on streaming entertainment, geek culture, memes, technology gadgets, and social topics such as LGBT, gender, and race. Its revenue model incorporates an e-commerce branch that creates branded video content for advertisers and manages an online marketplace, thereby diversifying income through digital marketing and product sales.
History
Founded in 2011 by Nicholas White, The Daily Dot was created to report on online communities like Reddit and Tumblr with the same local focus as traditional newspapers. Coming from a family with a newspaper legacy dating back to 1869, White initiated the venture with $600,000 in funding and a modest team. The company set up its headquarters in Austin, Texas and grew by employing remote contributors. In 2015, it raised $10 million in private capital to expand its workforce, digital content output, and creative agency operations, reaching a production rate of 50–70 articles daily. Editorially, it emphasizes underrepresented subjects and progressive themes such as body positivity and feminism while prioritizing workforce diversity.
Several content initiatives were developed: the company was an early pioneer in dedicated esports journalism but divested its Dot Esports division to Australian media group Gamurs in 2016. In 2014, it acquired rival site The Kernel, which was converted into a weekly long-form editorial publication; however, The Kernel ended regular releases by 2016.
Partnerships have included video collaborations with HLN (notably the Next Sex series), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (producing a vaccination PSA featuring Elmo and former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy), and culinary expert Alton Brown, whose kitchen gadget reviews achieved millions of views on YouTube.
In 2016, The Daily Dot introduced VIP Voices, a platform presenting op-eds from prominent figures such as Mayor Bill de Blasio, Representative Ted Lieu, and Senator Mike Lee, thereby broadening its role in shaping public conversations around Internet-related matters.
In 2018, the company initiated legal action against the New York Police Department seeking access to handgun license applications submitted by Donald Trump and his sons, citing public interest despite privacy objections raised by the NYPD.
By early 2016, The Daily Dot employed 76 full-time staff alongside 222 freelancers but implemented layoffs affecting 40% of its personnel in September that year as part of a strategic realignment focusing on growth sectors like video production, e-commerce, and sales. Its e-commerce approach includes branded video content distributed on Facebook generating revenue through affiliate commissions and operates two online stores: the Bazaar and The Daily Dot Store.
In August 2021, the firm launched the newsletter Passionfruit, which subsequently evolved into an independent website.
Awards
- Honored in 2015 at The Webby Awards for Websites-News.
- Finalist for Digiday Publisher of the Year in 2015, recognized for investigative reporting on a data breach at global intelligence firm Stratfor.
- Praised by The Atlantic in 2015 for exceptional journalism with "How to Destroy an American Family," exploring cyberattack consequences on an Illinois household.
- Finalist for Digiday Publisher of the Year and Best Native Advertising in 2016.
- Nominated at The Webby Awards in 2016 for Best Individual Performance in Online Film and Video (collaboration with Alton Brown).
- Finalist for CJ Affiliate CJ You Innovator of the Year Award in 2017.
External links
- Kernel
- VIP Voices
- Interview with CEO Nicholas White on the inception of The Daily Dot: