Wetpaint
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Internet, Entertainment |
| Predecessor | Wikisphere |
| Founded | October 2005 |
| Founder | Ben Elowitz, Kevin Flaherty, Alex Berg |
| Defunct | 2020 |
| Fate | Acquired by Viggle (later Function(X)); wiki farm divested to Wikifoundry |
| Headquarters | New York City , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Ben Elowitz (co-founder) |
| Products | Wetpaint Entertainment, Social Distribution System, Wiki farm technology |
| Owner | Function(X) |
Number of employees | 24 (reduction in 2009) |
| Parent | Function(X) |
| Website | wetpaint |
Wetpaint operated as an Internet enterprise and was fully owned by Function(X). Established in 2005, the company managed Wetpaint Entertainment, a site focused on entertainment news, and created the Social Distribution System, an exclusive analytics tool utilized internally and by external publishers. Initially functioning as a wiki farm with proprietary technology, Wetpaint transitioned in 2010 to concentrate on professionally curated content.
History
Initially launched under the name Wikisphere, Wetpaint was co-established in October 2005 by Ben Elowitz, who had previously co-founded the online retailer Blue Nile Inc.. The company adopted the Wetpaint brand in December 2005. Late that year, it obtained $5.25 million in Series A financing from Trinity Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures. This was followed by a $9.5 million Series B funding round in January 2007, with Accel Partners joining as an investor. A substantial $25 million Series C round was completed in May 2008, led by Accel Partners alongside Trinity Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures.
In 2007, Time Magazine listed Wetpaint among its 50 Best Websites.
Social networking capabilities were added to the platform in March 2008.
Due to a downturn in advertising revenue, Wetpaint reduced its workforce by 24 employees between July and December 2009, including co-founders Kevin Flaherty and Alex Berg, and redirected its focus toward professionally generated content. The primary website was relaunched as Wetpaint Entertainment, aimed at women aged 18-34 with TV fan communities. Meanwhile, the original wiki farm was renamed "Wikis by Wetpaint" and migrated to wetpaintcentral.com.
December 2010 saw the launch of the Social Distribution System, designed to improve content analytics and distribution efficiency.
In December 2012, entertainment rewards company Viggle acquired Wetpaint; Viggle later reverted to the Function(X) identity. Following this acquisition, the wiki-hosting segment was divested in 2013 to Wikifoundry, which ceased operations in June 2021, marking the end of the original Wetpaint wiki farm after a 15-year span.
Activity on wetpaint.com stopped in 2018, with the website becoming inactive by mid-2020.
External links
- (Archived)
- American entertainment websites
- Infotainment
- Online mass media companies of the United States
- Mass media companies established in 2005
- Private equity portfolio companies
- Social media companies
- Wiki farms
- Mass media companies disestablished in 2020
- 2005 establishments in New York City
- 2020 disestablishments in New York (state)
- 2012 mergers and acquisitions
- American companies established in 2005
- American companies disestablished in 2020