The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has lifted its freeze on Wirecard based credit cards. The removal will allow customers with Wirecard issued Cards to “use their cards as normal”.
This restores services for millions of customers who had been temporarily unable to access money or make payments through payment apps which rely on Wirecard’s technology.
The restrictions were placed on Newcastle based Wirecard Card Solutions (WCS) by the United Kingdoms financial regulator, FCA on On 26 June 2020. These restrictions remove the possibility of WCS deposing assets/funds and other regulated activities.
The company however still faces restriction on where transfer its assets and where it can hold customers cash as the FCA continues to monitor it.
WCS is UK arm of the Wirecard Group, This freeze came on the heels of ongoing events in Germany concerning Wirecard’s parent company, Wirecard AG which filed for insolvency.
Wirecard filed for Insolvency on Thursday which was sternly followed by the FCA placing a freeze on the activities of Wirecard while it did a quick review in order to protect the consumer.
“We have been working closely with Wirecard UK and other authorities over the last few days to ensure that the firm was able to meet certain conditions required to lift the restrictions we imposed on it,” the FCA said in a statement.
WCS offers its prepaid debit cards and additional services such as payment processing for companies like Curve, Pockit and Payoneer. Customers were out in their numbers on various social platforms, mostly twitter to complain about how they cannot use their cards connected to third party companies.
Now consumers and these Third-party companies which used Wirecard are happy about the return of the status quo for Wirecard activities. Such as Payment company, New York-based fintech company, Payoneer:
Your Payoneer card is active again. You can withdraw funds from your card at ATMs or spend them online & in stores. We are in the process of enabling you to withdraw funds to your local bank account and use your balance to make payments. https://t.co/JgRBISqfYZ
Payoneer issues its prepaid Mastercard powered by WCS, It guarantees its customers that all funds owed to their customers would be honoured even if Wirecard couldn’t.
Payoneer in fact pull out all the avenues to reassure its customers that they were addressing the concerns. Action such as Emailing it users, reaching out to its third-party partners such as Upwork, and uploaded videos to YouTube which included its CEO(Scott Galit) and COO(Karen Levy).
Payoneer has indicated in an email to its customers that it will seek an alternative payment provider for its prepaid cards going forward while continuing to use WCS.
Travel Money specialists, FairFX:
Great news, WE’RE BACK! We have just heard that from midnight tonight, the FCA will be lifting the restrictions on Wirecard’s operations. (1/2) https://t.co/ZOzyY4wtgN
— FairFX (Part of the Equals Group) (@FairFX) June 29, 2020
UK Business banking startup, ANNA Money:
We’re pleased to report that the FCA has given written consent for Wirecard UK to resume regulated activity. The restriction on activities will lift at 00.01 on 30 June 2020. https://t.co/BWhFCAI8S7
t’s true! You can make payments on your physical Curve Card again. We’re still working on some other functionalities, check out our blog to learn about our phased approach 👉 https://t.co/ohhIopssRA
WCS is happy with the decision and affirms it will continue to work with the FCA to lift the remaining restrictions.
“There may be a delay before all card programmes are fully operational, so some customers could find themselves unable to transact immediately but we anticipate this lasting no longer than 24 hours. We apologise for the inconvenience to our valued customers that the temporary suspension caused,” the UK firm said.
Need a great Search Engine for Kids? I have compiled a list of the top Search Engine for Kids on the World Wide Web such as Kiddle and Qwant Junior.
Search Engines are the web gateway to the worldwide web of information. Google has been the world’s top search engine in terms of usage and efficiency, the website receives a whopping 3.5 billion searches per day.
Google and other major search engines are tailored for a wide audience. This wide Audience provides a few issues for kids such as Oddly targeted Advertising, Business Content, and Odd or Inappropriate (Adult content) Results.
Google and other search engines do their best to filter search results. A child-specific search engine is your best option to ensure the security and protection of your child.
Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. It can be a gem when doing really deep research.
a directory of links to sites carefully selected by a teacher for students as well as their parents and teachers. The site was designed for elementary grades but many of the sites will also be of interest to older students.
This is a custom search engine using Google’s Safe Search features with additional filtering to block more potentially harmful material than if you simply use Google. It is fun, colorful and easy for kids to use.
Swiggle child-friendly search engine from the Online Safety experts at SWGfL. Searching the internet for images or content can sometimes be a bit hit and miss. It can be hard to find the right content and sometimes you can stumble onto things that might make you feel upset, embarrassed or sad. Swiggle can help you with your first steps on the road to better online searching.
Kidrex is yet another search engine for kids, however, presenting Ads and does not have an SSL certificate(HTTPS) like most of the entrants on this list.
I would hold out on using this site based on the aforementioned security issues and Ads if that is not something you want your child interfacing with.
KidzSearch uses Google SafeSearch™ to provide safe, profanity-free and adult content-free search results for kids.
It achieves this feat via a list of curse words, profanities, and sexually explicit words combine with a list of adult websites. These combined are used to halt searches if entries on this list are entered in the search box.
The platform also uses a unique algorithm that detects secret cloaking methods such as ‘leet.’ Example “1” is “i” and “5” can be utilized as an “s”.
The website isn’t just a search engine but a portal of information for kids, hosting Education News, Educational Games, A Message Board and an encyclopedia of over 20,000 articles.
Yet another Search Engine for Kids, Kid’s Search is not to be confused with the previous entry on this list. Like the previous entrant, Kid’s search is not just an Ad-Free search engine but a web portal for educational resources.
The Search Engine has a Kid-Friendly Peer reviewed directory of appropriate content, usefulness and fun. The search engine is a great resource for kids from kindergarten through to Elementary school.
Powered by Google, Kiddle is a Child who loves colourful and visually appealing books, food and more. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that they would want this same need for Visuals to be met by a search engine.
Kiddle search results are highly curated by editors who select safe and relevant sites for kids. Kiddle has the customary keyword and site blocking which comes with most of the entrants on this list.
Qwant Junior – The search engine that respects your privacy.
Qwant Junior is not just a search engine made for kids between the ages of 6-12 years old but offers a mobile app with a built-in web browser. Qwant Junior is the little brother/sister of the much-interesting European search engine provider, Qwant.
Qwant Junior is the world’s first search engine made for 6-12 years old kids. For them, Internet is an amazing place to learn, discover and have fun and Qwant Junior brings forward the best educational and entertainment content. But there are things on the web you’d rather kids not see, and you cannot always keep an eye on every website your kid go to. With its safe and secure browser, Qwant Junior brings security for your kid by hiding inapropriate content such violence, porn, drugs, hate… Thanks to a strict privacy respectful supervisory system, Qwant Junior browser protects kids from accessing harmful websites identified by Qwant Junior and its community of education professionals.
Game tiles, Stranger Things 3: The Game and AER Memories of Old are Free for the taking on the Epic Game store for a limited time, following the last giveaway Pathway.
Stranger Things 3: The Game
Stranger Things 3: The Game is a nostalgic co-op adventure game which follows the events of Netflix’s Stranger Things Season 3. The game retails at $3.99 on the Epic Games Store and available for both the Windows and macOS based operating systems.
Stranger Things 3: The Game is the official companion game to Season 3 of the hit original series! Play through familiar events from the series while also uncovering never-before-seen quests, character interactions, and secrets! This adventure game blends a distinctively retro art style with modern gameplay mechanics to deliver nostalgic fun with a fresh new twist.
AER : Memories of Old
AER Memories of Old is an open world exploration game where the player has the ability to fly through a world of floating islands in the sky and discovering ancient ruins along the way. This game retails at $5.99 on the Epic Game Store and is only available to Windows based operating systems.
Transform into a bird and fly to explore and experience a vibrant world of floating islands in the sky. Venture down into lost ancient ruins where each step leads you closer to the end of the world.
So if you wanna get these lovely games, simply head over to the Epic Games Store before July 2. The next games scheduled to be giveaways are Conan Exiles and Hue.
Want a List of the Internets best and most popular digital media groups? You have come to the right place as this is an ongoing updated list of the web’s best and most popular media groups which own/operate blogs and various digital Media.
The Digital groups generally grow from a flagship website to either acquiring or creating additional brands for varying niches Some may even have their origin stemming from print media such as Conde Nast, Future Plc, etc.
Tiny Boards creates and acquires job boards. A typical cost for posting a job on job boards within the network is $299 for 30 days. If you have a job board with around 200K -1mm+ monthly visitors then Tiny Boards would potentially be interested in acquiring your job board.
The network consists of:
Designer News (News for designers) – a community for Design and tech enthusiasts to share and discover the latest industry-relevant information. Beyond it Reddit like design, the website also has a podcast and Jobs board.
We Work Remotely (Remote job board) – a popular Remote job board which receives over 2.5 Million monthly visitors on average. Jobs are posted to the job board from a wide set of professional categories such as Remote jobs in design, programming, marketing and more.
Unicorn Hunter (Startup job board) – This is a European startup dedicated job board which list jobs your typical professional startup positions such as Back-end Developer, Front-end Developer, Full Stack Developer, Mobile Developer, Data Science, DevOps, Designer, Sales, Marketing, Product and Project Management. Listing a job on this site can cost anywhere from between £0 to £249.
Fresh Gigs (Marketing job board) – A Canadian marketing job board which has social media, marketing, graphics Design and communications jobs for Canadian locations such as Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver. Posting a job to this job board costs $199 for 30 days.
Future Jobs (Job board of the future) – This domain simply redirects to We Work Remotely.
This media group stems from Bustle, a online American women’s magazine founded in August 2013 by Bryan Goldberg.
The Bustle Digital Group (BDG) consist of 9 media brands which boast an average of 84 million readers and 42 million social fans.
Before I list the media brands within this group, I would like to note the group’s acquisitions of The Outline on March 27, 2019. Founded by Joshua Topolsky, The Outline was an online publication focused on “power”, “culture” and the “future”. The site was still run by its founder after its acquisition by BDG. The publication was later shuttered after laying off much of its entire editorial team on April 3, 2020. It is evident that The Outline’s operations were not meeting expectations.
The 9 Brand which make up the BDG include:
Bustle(Women’s Magazine) – A online American women’s magazine founded in 201 and the origin of the media group. It covers topics such as news and politics alongside articles about beauty, celebrities, and fashion trends.
Elite Daily(The Voice of Generation Y) – Launched in 2012, The Elite daily is an American online news platform founded by four guys (David Arabov, Jonathon Francis, and Gerard Adams) targeted at millennials. The website was acquired from the DMG Media on April 17, 2017, by Bustle with the aim to increase Bustle’s original video content.
Input(Consumer Tech Magazine) – Launched on December 16 2019, Input is “a groundbreaking consumer technology and lifestyle publication that will focus on the intersection of tech, design, style, and culture.”
Inverse(science and entertainment) – Launched in by Dave Nemetz, co-founder of Bleacher Report. The popular website which covers technology, science, and culture(entertainment) for a millennial audience. The website was acquired by BDG in July 2019.
Mic(millennial-focused news) – Originally known as PollyMic, Mic is a website founded in 2011 by Chris Altchek and Jake Horowitz, two high school friends from New York. The website rebranded from PollytMic back in 2014 to Mic with the purchase of the mic.com domain name for a reported value of $500,000. The website is popular for its coverage of the 2011 Tunisian Revolution and Facebook videos. On November 28, 2018, The site had to layoff most of its staff after facebook cancelled its video deal with the company. It was then announced on the same day that BDG had acquired Mic for under $5million, a noted fraction of its reported value.
Nylon(Lifestyle Magazine) – Purchased by BDG back in June 2019 with the aim to publish print magazines under the Nylon brand name. Nylon is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on pop culture and fashion. Nylon was co-founded in 1999 by writer-editor Mark Blackwell, advertising veteran Madonna Badger,Kung Faux creator Mic Neumann,supermodel Helena Christensen, and the husband and wife publishing team of Marvin and Jaclynn Jarrett, with investment from businessperson Sam Waksal.
Romper(Millennial Parenthood) – BDG launched Romper in 2015 and initially led by Margaret Wheeler Johnson who has formerly helped The Huffington Post launch its women’s section in 2011.
The Zoe Report(fashion, beauty and lifestyle) – Is a Fashion and Beauty magazine created by American fashion designer, businesswoman, and writer, Rachel Zoe Rosenzweig. She founded the site as a newsletter based free daily newspaper in August 2019 with over 750,000 subscribers. The website was acquired by the BDG in May 2019.
The Future PLC is a Publishing and Digital media Megalith, The company has over 133 brands which publish content across fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photography, home and knowledge. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
The British media company, Future PLC began back in 1985 as Future Publishing by Chris Anderson. Based in Somerton, Somerset, England, the companies the first magazine was the monthly English computer magazine, Amstrad Action.
The company is divided into three subsidiaries; Future US(originally GP Publications before 1994), Future Publishing and Future Australia.
Founded in 1998, DBolical also operates partner sites such as ModDB(video game modding showcase), IndieDB(independent gaming showcase), GameFront(best mods, maps, skins, tools, and utilities since 1998) and modularity(Video Game Publisher).
Formed in 2010, the company is an online media publisher focused on “creating vibrant and informative websites with a strong community-based focus”. Nlife Media is a partner of the previous entry, the gamer network. Nlife Media’s websites are really popular, they have attracted a combination of over 9 million unique visitors and 16 million page views a month.
The group consists of 3 blogs: Nintendo Life(focused on Nintendo Stuff), Push Square )(Focused on PlayStation stuff) andPure Xbox(Focused on XBox console stuff).
Design Technica is a privately funded and owned corporation which operates Digital Trends, Digital Trends en Español, and The Manual. The company has offices in New York City, Portland, Los Angeles and Chicago.
With more than 6 million social followers and a website that reaches 30 million worldwide, the brand interacts with more than 100 million people per month.
Founded in 2006 by Ian Bell and Dan Gaul in Lake Oswego, Oregon, The Digital Trends is technology news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos, and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products.
The Manual is a men’s lifestyle blog aimed at “show men how to live a life that is more engaged”.
PMC is an American digital media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including Variety, Rolling Stone, WWD, Deadline Hollywood, BGR, and others. PMC’s Chairman and CEO since founding is Jay Penske.
On April 2, 2020, PMC announced that it would launch Sportico—a new vertical focusing on the sports industry, later in the year.
Robb Report ( an American, English-language, luxury-lifestyle magazine featuring products, including automobiles, aviation, boating, real estate and watches. )
Hollywood Life (Hollywood News) -launched in 2009 and has quickly become a top online destination for millennial women ages 18 to 34. The site covers celebrity, fashion, beauty, entertainment and baby news.
Stylecaster (Style News, Fashion Trends & Beauty Tips) – an accessible, inclusive, ahead-of-the-trend destination for the millennial woman who wants to live with style and substance.
SheKnows (All Things Parenting)- a progressive, inclusive space for women to find the practical information they need and the daily inspiration they want to live full, authentic lives — on their own terms.
Blog Her (Celebrating Female Content Creators) – Conferences and Educational Content for Bloggers.
ARTnews (Art Magazine) – Founded in 1902, ARTnews is the oldest and most widely circulated art magazine in the world..
Hollywood Life (Footwear fashion news) –
Footwear News/FN (Shoe News and Fashion Trends) – Footwear News is the publication of record for senior footwear and fashion executives, providing an insider’s perspective on top news, trends and strategies.
Sourcing Journal (a trade publication for apparel and textile executives focused on sourcing and manufacturing) – founded in 2009, Sourcing Journal swiftly took the lead as the top-tier voice for sourcing and manufacturing industry thought leaders.
Spy (gadgets, gear, style, media, and experiences) – Spy.com is a leading buyer’s guide for Millennials with discerning tastes in must-have gadgets, gear, style, media, and experiences.
TVLine (TV News, Previews, Spoilers, Casting Scoop, Interviews) – launch in January 2011, TVLine has become a household name in trusted television content.
G/O is a digital media group that manages former Gawker Media properties. The company was formed in April 2019 when Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm, purchased the websites from Univision for $20.6 million.
Prior to the sale, the former Gawker Media properties had operated as Gizmodo Media Group after being acquired by Univision following the conclusion of the Bollea v. Gawker lawsuit and subsequent bankruptcy in 2016.
Conde Nast is global american-origin media company which mostly operates print magazines focused on Fashions, Music, Entertainment & Lifestyle but also includes digital components such as Wired, Ars Technica and Pitchfork. The company prides its self for having some of the worlds leading print, digital, video and social brands.
Founded in 1909, Conde Nast was created by a popular American publisher, Condé Montrose Nast who launched his magazine empire with the purchase of Vogue. Conde Montrose Nast Published the Magazine under the Vogue Company Banner until incorporating Conde Nast in 1923. Vogue was created in 1892 as a New York weekly journal of society and fashion news.
The Company has grown over the years via a combination of new magazine launches and acquisitions. One example is its acquisition of Pitchfork back in 2015.
Notable Brands include:
Ars Technica(Technology) – Ars Technica’s mission is to provide the greatest insight into what’s at stake in technology today, through a comprehensive understanding of all the facets that surround and contribute to it.
The New Yorker(News Magazine) – a New York based news magazine which delivers unparalleled reporting and commentary on politics and foreign affairs, business and technology, popular culture and the arts, along with humour, fiction, poetry, and, of course, cartoons.
Food Innovation Group: Epicurious (Recipes) – Started 1995, Epicurious is a cooking brand which creates videos on Youtube and hosts the Bon Appétit and Gourmet recipe archives. The website has grown to include original recipes from the Epicurious Test Kitchen, daily advice from the cooking-savvy Epicurious staff, and some of the fastest-growing food video series on YouTube.
Food Innovation Group: Bon Appétit (food) – Bon Appétit is where food and culture meet. The award-winning No. 1 food lifestyle brand covers food through the lens of cooking, fashion, travel, technology, design and home
PitchFork (online music magazine) – Pitchfork.com is the preeminent resource for highly-engaged fans looking to discover and experience new music in a thought-provoking way.
Self (self-help) – a multiplatform self-help content creator initially launched as a magazine back in 1979. You can find their content not just at their website but also at Snapchat, newsletters, consumer products and events.
The 9to5 family of Sites are a network of blogs which covers various tech companies and focuses such as Apple, Google and Electric vehicles. The 9to5 sites origin stems from its flagship blog, 9to5Mac which was founded in 2013 by Seth Weintraub, an IT stranded in Paris.
The 9to5 family of websites has a unique way of paying its writers/contributors, each contributor has their own AdSense banners. The network comprises of 9toMac.com (covers Mac/Apple), 9to5Google.com(Google), 9to5Toys.com(Gadgets/Tech), Electrek.co (Telsa/Electric Vehicles) and DroneDJ.com (Drones).
Mansueto Venture
Mansueto Ventures was founded in 2005 when Joe Mansueto acquired the assets of Inc and Fast Company Magazine from Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing Company.
Joe Mansueto is an American billionaire and the founder, majority owner and executive chairman of Morningstar, Inc.
Eric Schurenberg is the current CEO of Mansueto Ventures. He has previous experience as the editor of CBS MoneyWatch.com and BNET.com and managing editor of Money.
Original know as Business Insider Inc., Insider Inc is an American online media company which focusses business and finance stories across its websites. The company changed its name back in 2017 with the aim to branch out to different subjects on social media.
Founded in 2007 by Henry Blodget and Kevin P. Ryan (Silicon Alley Insider Inc), Business Insider is the flagship website of the group and covers business and finance. The company has received funding from Jeff Bezo’s investment company Bezos Expeditions (2013). Axel Springer SE acquired 88% interest back in 2015, improving their ownership 98% with Bezos owning the rest of the shares. As of 2018, Axel Springer SE owns 100% of Insider Inc.
Apart from its flagship brand, Business Insider, The group also includes:
Insider – Launched in 2015, Insider is a general news site akin to Buzzfeed.
Markets Insider – Launched in 2016, Markets Insider is a globally-focused markets data and news service with data provided by Germany-based finance portal Finanzen.net, another Axel Springer holding.
Business Insider Intelligence – a paywalled daily email product which provides business intelligence industry briefs and more.
BI Prime – The official subscription services for which BI Prime subscribers receive unlimited access to Business Insider and the BI App stories, news, analysis, exclusives, and more.
Insider Studios – The branded content studio for Insider Inc., parent company to Business Insider and Insider. We collaborate with marketers on stories that inform and inspire.
Business Insider Today – A Facebook Page which produces news stories which are likely produced by Insider Studios.
Ignition– Ignitionis insiders flagship conference event which brings together speakers who explore the world of business, media, society, culture, technology and transformation.
BuzzFeed is the leading independent digital media company delivering news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people around the world.
Known for its online quizzes, “listicles”, and pop culture articles, the company was founded in 2013 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III with the aim of on tracking viral content. The company has seen a steady growth into a global tech media company, covering topics such as politics, DIY, animals, and business.
In 2006, while working at the Huffington Post, Peretti started BuzzFeed (originally called BuzzFeed Laboratories) as a side project, in partnership with his former supervisor John Johnson. In the beginning, BuzzFeed employed no writers or editors, just an “algorithm to cull stories from around the web that were showing stirrings of virality.”
BuzzFeed Originals, which creates articles, lists, quizzes, and videos; BuzzFeed Media Brands, which comprises a portfolio of identity-driven lifestyle brands including Nifty, Goodful, As/Is, and Tasty, the world’s largest social food network; BuzzFeed Studios, which produces original content across broadcast, cable, SVOD, film and digital platforms; and BuzzFeed News, which includes world-class reporting and investigative journalism. The company also includes BuzzFeed Commerce, which develops products and experiences, as well as licensing and other strategic partnerships.
taken from Buzzfeed’s About Landing Page
Buzzfeeds brands include:
Buzzfeed – The is the flagship brand/website which is focused on viral content such as quizzes, listicles, pop articles and videos.
Buzzfeed News – Originally a section on the Buzzfeed, Buzzfeed new is An award-winning online news website which was headed by former Politico editor-in-chief, Ben Smith. The site was later given its own domain on July 18, 2018, with features such as a Trending News Bar and programmatic advertisements.
Tasty – Made for Facebook, Tasty is a comfort food video series where it has 100 million followers as of December 2019.
As / Is – Launched back in April 2019, As / Is is a YouTube channel which posts daily videos & series about beauty, fashion, style, body positivity, women’s experiences and lifestyle.
Goodful – A partnership between Macy’s and Buzzfeed, Goodful is a wellness-oriented lifestyle brand designed to promote wellness and mindfulness among consumers. The brand write articles and make videos across Buzzfeed, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
Bring Me – A Buzzfeed channel/brand focused on Travel Discovery which creates written and video content for the Buzzfeed, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram platforms.
Nifty – “From canvas totes to a full-on wagon for groceries, here are alternatives that the BuzzFeed Community loves. “. The channel creates both video and written content.
Playfull – Playfull yet another BuzzFeed channel/brand “the go-to parenting brand for millennials”. It provides both written and video content which gives viral stories, hacks, advice and more.
Worth It – Founded on September 18, 2016, Worth It is a web series where hosts Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, along with cameraman Adam Bianchi visits visiting three different restaurants to try similar foods at three “drastically different price points”—affordable, mid, and luxury.
Ziff Davis is a subsidiary of j2 Global, Inc., is a leading global digital-media company operating in three core verticals: Technology, Gaming, and Shopping. Ziff Davis delivers advertising, performance marketing, data services and licensing solutions to thousands of clients worldwide. Ziff Davis publishes in 26 languages and successfully partners with local publishing operators across 115 countries.
Ziff Davis was founded in 1927 by William Bernard Ziff Sr. and Bernard George Davis as a hobbyist print magazine publisher in Chicago, Illinois. On November 12, 2012, Ziff Davis Inc., was acquired by cloud computing services company J2 Global of Hollywood, California, U.S.A. for $167 million cash.
According to an October 2015 Fortune article, Ziff Davis comprises 30% of parent company J2 Global’s $600 million annual revenue (2014) and is increasing 15% to 20% each year. Analyst Gregory Burns of Sidoti & Company calculates that Ziff Davis is worth $1.9 billion.
Popular Ziff Davis Brands include:
PC Magazine (Personal Computing/technology buying) – First started in 1982 as a print magazine, PC Magazine launched its first digital edition 1998. PC Labs is a unit of PC Mag which has a 5,000-square-foot testing facility in New York City, where their staff develops and performs accurate and reproducible testing with the intent to identify the best (and worst) products so their readers can make the smartest buying decisions.
IGN Entertainment (video game and entertainment) – Launched on September 29, 1996, It is a group of entertainment, Gaming and Men Focused Brands. The flagship brand of IGN.com does Gaming & entertainment while AskMen is a web portal for all things men. It was acquired Ziff Davis on February 4, 2013, from News Corporation,
Mashable (culture and tech) – Launched in 2005 by Pete Cashmore, Mashable is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company which covers a wide range of entertainment, culture and technology content. Mashable was acquired by Ziff Davis on December 2017 for a value of $50 million. The acquisitions were due in large part to is lacklustre losses in September.
Ookla SpeedTest.net (Internet Speed Tool) – Founded in 2006, this is a web service that provides free analysis of Internet access performance metrics, such as connection data rate and latency. In December 2014, Ziff Davis acquired Ookla, owner of Speedtest.net.
Humble Bundle(digital storefront) – Humble Bundle is a digital storefront for video games, ebooks, and software. Visitors to Humble Bundles website can buy via monthly subscriptions, set-your-own-price bundles, and a la carte Store sales. Initially ran by WolfireGame in 2010, The Humble Bundle Company was spun out with the sole purpose of managing the promotions, payments, and distribution of the bundles. In October 2017, the company was acquired by Ziff Davis through its IGN Entertainment subsidiary, though operates as a separate subsidiary.
Offers.com (Deals) -Initially started in 2009, Offers.com is a leading coupons & deals website featuring offers from more than 16,000 of the internet’s best stores & brands.
Geek.com (Tech News) – an online resource and community for technology and culture since 1996. Geek.com sorts through and makes sense of each day’s tech and culture news, featuring the most relevant and useful stories with a unique voice. Ziff Davis acquired the site on January 2011 for an undisclosed sum.
Founded in 1992, CBS Interactive is a subsidiary of the CBS Entertainment Group division of ViacomCBS. The company is a content network of information and entertainment websites that covers news, sports, entertainment, technology, and business.
CBS Interactive’s origin is contingent on its CNET Networks acquisition on June 30, 2008, although its acquisition of the music website, last.fm predates the CNET Network acquisition by a year, on May 30, 2007.
CNET (Product Reviews, Deals, how-to and the latest Technology news) – Founded by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie in 1994, CNET (stylized as c|net, formerly Computer Network) publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally.CBS acquired CNET Networks on June 30, 2008, its assets were then merged into CBS Interactive, including Metacritic, GameSpot, TV.com, and Movietome.
Gamespot (video games) – Original launched on May 1, 1996, by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein, Gamespot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games.
TV Guide (Entertainment and Television)- a bi-weekly American magazine that provides television program listings information as well as television-related news, celebrity interviews and gossip, film reviews, crossword puzzles, and, in some issues, horoscopes. The print magazine is owned by NTVB Media, while its digital properties are controlled by the CBS Interactive division of ViacomCBS; the TV Guide name and associated editorial content from the publication are licensed by CBS Interactive for use on the website and mobile app through an agreement with the magazine’s parent-subsidiary TVGM Holdings, Inc.
DotDash is the Digital Media subsidiary of IAC, an American holding company which owns internet/media brands. The company stems from Mining Company founded in 1996. Founded by the owner of General Internet, Scott Kurnit, Bill Day and a group of New York City Entrepreneurs. Its initial focus was on maintaining 1,800 topic areas, but after five years of operation, this number was reduced to around 700.
The Mining Company later became About Inc.”, and the website address from “miningco.com” to “about.com” in May 1999.
The company was then acquired by Primedia in the early 2000s. It was then acquired by the Times Company (Holding company of New York Times). It was then finally acquired by IAC through its Answer.com brand which was a knowledgebase exchange which offered similar content.
On the 2 of May 2020, About.com was relaunched/rebranded as DotDash with a new strategy. CEO Niel Vogel lead the charge to refocus Dotdash’s Marketing Strategy and business model. The new model was now content focused on niche-specific vertical markets.
Vox Media is a digital media company that began back in 2005 as SportsBlogs Inc. The company was founded by Jerome Armstrong, Tyler Bleszinski, and Markos Moulitsas. The company later rebranded as Vox Media in 2011. The company’s lines of business include the publishing platform:
Chorus – a proprietary content management system for its brands.
Concert – a publisher-led marketplace for advertising.
Vox Creative – a branded entertainment business.
Vox Entertainment – a Production arm form in 2015 to expand the company’s presence in developing online video programming.
Vox Media Studios – form in 2019, it is an umbrella for the Vox Entertainment, Vox Media Podcast, and simultaneously acquired Epic units.
The Vox Media Podcast Network – A non-fiction audio programming business and has a broad portfolio of audio programming across business, technology, news and policy, sports, and dining.
Vox Media brands consist of:
TheVerge (Tech News) – a Technology news website launched on November 1, 2011 by the former employees of Engadget, including former editor Joshua Topolsky and the new site’s editor-in-chiefNilay Patel.
Vox (News/Explanatory Journalism) – launched in April 2014, this is a new website that employs explanatory journalism.
SBNation (Sports) – the Origin Brand, SBNation is a sports blogging network, founded by Tyler Bleszinski and Markos Moulitsas in 2005.
Eater (Food/Dining) – a food and dining network of sites, offering reviews and news about the restaurant industry. founded in 2005 by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal with the initial focus on dining and nightlife in New York City, it expanded to additional cities.
Polygon (Gaming) – launched in 2012, Polygon is a video game website which publishes news, culture, reviews, and videos.
Curbed (Real Estate/Home) – founded in 2014, Curbed is a real-estate and home website that reaches beyond New York City to publish in 32 markets across the U.S. Curbed became a Vox Media brand when the company acquired its parent company, Curbed Network, in November 2013 for $20–30 million in cash and stock.
Recode (Tech Business News) – Founded in Januery 2014 by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, Recode is a technology news website that focused on the business of Silicon Valley. Acquired by Vox Media in May 2015, Recode was integrated into Vox on May 2019 under the name Recode by Vox .
Yahoo Inc. (previously Verizon Media, also previously Oath Inc.) is the media and online business.
The company was the end result of Verizon’s acquisition of AOL in 2015 and the core assets of Yahoo! in 2017 which were merged to form Oath Inc. The company was later renamed Verizon Media in January 2019 while maintaining its AOL and Yahoo! brands and Dual headquarters.
On May 3, 2021, Verizon announced that 90 per cent of the division would be acquired by Apollo Global Management for roughly $5 billion, and will simply be known as Yahoo as soon as the agreement comes to a close. Verizon is set to retain a minor 10% stake in the new group.
AOL (web portal) – AOL is essentially a web portal with syndicates the latest news (breaking news, entertainment, sports, finance, human interest stories and much more) and offers a webmail service. AOL has a long historical origin spanning from a venture known as Control Video Corporation (or CVC), a short-lived venture founded by William von Meister in 1983 to its current name, AOL which it adopted in 1995.
Autoblog (Automotive/Cars) – This blog was launched in June 2004 by Weblogs Inc (a blog network which AOL purchased in 2005) as an Automotive news and car shopping website based in Birmingham. It produces daily articles and videos covering various facets of the auto industry as well as a weekly video podcast.
BUILD – BUILD is a live interview series with today’s biggest names in entertainment, tech, fashion and business.
Built By Girls – #BUILTBYGIRLS prepares the next generation of female leaders to step boldly into their tech careers.
Engadget(Tech) – tech news and reviews, producing the best industry videos and features.
Flurry (Mobile Analytics) – a mobile analytics, monetization, and advertising company founded in 2005.
HuffPost (news aggregator & Blog) – an American news aggregator and blog, with localized and international editions. It has been described as mostly liberal or liberal-leaning. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content and covers politics, business, entertainment, environment, technology, popular media, lifestyle, culture, comedy, healthy living, women’s interests, and local news featuring columnists
MAKERS (Woman Empowerment) – “MAKERS accelerates the women’s movement through stories of real-life experiences that ignite action.”
Rivals (college football/basketball recruiting) – a leading authority on college football and hoops recruiting with highlights, interviews and rankings.
RYOT (Content Studio) – an award-winning content studio and innovation lab that creates top storytelling experiences and tech.
Techcrunch (tech industry) – credibility, insider access, and journalistic integrity make it a top source for breaking tech news.
Yahoo! (web portal) – the is a web portal which creates and syndicates news, entertainment, sports and finance content. It also has:
Yahoo! Mail is a free/premium email provider.
Yahoo! Finance is a Financial News sub-portal.
Yahoo! News is sub-portal for Original and syndicated news content.
Yahoo! Sports is a sub-portal for Original and syndicated news content.
Yahoo! Entertainment is a sub-portal for Original and Syndicated content on TV, movies, music, and celebrity news, including interviews, trailers, photos, and first looks.
Yahoo! Lifestyle is a sub-portal for original and syndicated content on style, beauty, and wellness, including health, inspiring stories, and the latest fashion trends.
Yahoo! Fantasy is a Fantasy Sports platform which offers “Comprehensive Fantasy news, scores, standings, fantasy games, rumours, and more”
Yahoo! Mobile is a Mobile Plan offered by Verizon which offers unlimited data, text and talk on Verizon’s 4G LTE Network, along with ad-free Yahoo Mail. It is also a term used to group all of the Yahoo Mobile apps.
[td_smart_list_end]
So there you have it, That was not little research of the webs best and most popular digital media groups. Have i forgotten any Digital Media group? leave us a suggestion below.
ViacomCBS has announced that the latest Spongebob Feature film, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN, will skip the theatres and receive a digital release in 2021.
The film was initially to hit theatres on May 22 but was postponed until August 7 due in large due to the coronavirus.
The film will debut digitally in the U.S via premium video on demand in early 2021 and then move exclusively to rebranded CBS All Access.
Earlier this year in May, ViacomCBS’s CEO, Bob Bakish announced it would rebrand the CBS All Access platform with the aim to incorporate all the companies cable brands and program libraries into a single platform.
The service will be rebranded sometime this summer and will see programs from brands such as Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, Smithsonian, MTV and Paramount Network.
“We are thrilled to have THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN, a premier, first-run movie from one of ViacomCBS’ biggest brands, join CBS All Access’ expanding slate of franchise content from across ViacomCBS,”
said Marc DeBevoise, Chief Digital Officer, ViacomCBS and President & Chief Executive Officer, ViacomCBS Digital.
So with that focus on bringing most of its content to this expanded new platform… All prior seasons of Spongebob Squarepants will become available on the rebranded platform in early 2021.
THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN, follows SpongeBob SquarePants, his best friend Patrick Star and the rest of the gang from Bikini Bottom in the first-ever all CGI SpongeBob motion picture event. After SpongeBob’s beloved pet snail Gary is snail-napped, he and Patrick embark on an epic adventure to The Lost City of Atlantic City to bring Gary home. As they navigate the delights and dangers on this perilous and hilarious rescue mission, SpongeBob and his pals prove there’s nothing stronger than the power of friendship.
Directed by Tim Hill, voice cast of THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE ON THE RUN includes Tom Kenny, Awkwafina, Clancy Brown, Rodger Bumpass, Bill Fagerbakke, Carolyn Lawrence, Douglas Lawrence and Reggie Watts.
Microsoft has announced that the will be shuttering their Live Streaming platform, Mixer. The decision was taken due to Microsoft on successful attempts to scale the platform “as quickly and broadly as possible”.
To respect their community, Mixer has teamed up with the next best Microsoft Partner with a competing Live Streaming component…Facebook Gaming.
What is Next?
Mixer Partners will be granted partner status with Facebook Gaming and will honor an match all existing agreements as closely as possible.Mixer Partners will receive an update from Mixer today on how to kickoff the sign-up process.
Streamers participating in Mixer’s open monetization program will be granted eligibility for the Facebook Gaming Level Up Program, where you can continue to grow and monetize your streams. Facebook Gaming will also fast-track onboarding for eligible streamers.
Mixer encourages all Mixer viewers to spend their remaining Embers and Sparks to help support your favourite Mixer Partners and streamers. Mixer Partners will receive double-payment for all of their earnings in the month of June – so your support of Embers, Sparks and channel subscriptions for Mixer Partners will go even further during the rest of this month.
Viewers with outstanding Ember balances, channel subscriptions or Mixer Pro subscriptions will receive Xbox Gift Card credit as a thank you for your engagement on the platform. Details on what you can expect can be found at this FAQ.
The Mixer service will continue to run through July 22, 2020. After that, Mixer.com will redirect to fb.gg, Facebook’s desktop home for gaming video, Mixer broadcasting on Xbox One will be temporarily disabled and the Mixer apps will notify or redirect viewers to continue watching their favourite streamers at Facebook Gaming.
Mixer users will be able to make a smooth transition to Facebook Gaming as Microsoft embarks on “bringing new experiences and opportunities to the entire world of gaming” as a key part of its broader effort.
Facebook Gaming has seen a large growth in its Gaming based live streaming, Every month, more than 700 million people play a game, watch a gaming video or interact in a gaming group on the platform.
The announcement notes that Microsoft’s partnership with Facebook Gaming will lead to future opportunities around its Xbox ecosystem, Xbox Game Pass, Project xCloud and more.
Mixer has locked a few major streamers into exclusivity deals such as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Cory “King Gothalion” Michael, and Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek. They will be given the choice of deciding thier new platforms.
MasterClass, he streaming platform which makes it possible to learn skills from the best has announced that the legendary skater and cultural icon, Tony Hawk will teach a class on skateboarding.
This announcement comes on Go Skateboarding Day (Originally called All Star City Skate Jam), a annual holiday created by the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) to promote skateboarding.
This class will break down foundational techniques in vert, park and street skating, and share intimate stories and insights from his storied career which help turn skateboarding into an international celebrated sport.
Hawks class is now available on Masterclass where members can subscribe for unlimited access to all new and existing 85+ classes through the All-Access Pass.
The all-access pass cost $15 per month (billed annually) and gives you a wide array of categories such as business, culinary arts, film & television, music & entertainment, photography, sports, lifestyle and more.
“Tony completely changed the world of skateboarding and we are excited to bring his class to life on Go Skateboarding Day,
His MasterClass gives a rare look not only into his skating techniques, but also into his life lessons that will do nothing less than inspire you.”
said David Rogier, co-founder and CEO of MasterClass.
Tony Hawk is the most recognizable pioneer of modern skateboarding who has elevated the sport’s profile and is credited with changing the perception of skateboarding from a subculture to a widely embraced sport.
His brother gave him his first skatebaord in the 70s and Hawk went on to become one of the youngest competing pro athletes by the age of 14.
Over the course of his 17-year career, he won more than 70 skateboarding contests and made skate history by becoming the first person to perform and land the 900, a two-and-a-half aerial spin above a vert ramp, during the X Games 5 competition.
In 1992, Hawk started his own skateboarding company, BirdHouse, and was inducted into the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2009. Hawk established The Tony Hawk Foundation that has awarded $10 million to help create public skateparks around the world.
“Skateboarding is a lesson in perseverance, a lesson in self-confidence and a lesson in belief,
I hope my MasterClass can show members that you don’t have to be a pro skater to carry these lessons with you for life.”
said Tony Hawk.
Hawk’s MasterClass teaches members the art of skateboarding, breaking down skateboarding techniques at all levels and sharing practical advice on becoming a successful skater. Designed for all levels, Hawk’s class starts with the basics in park, street and vert, making it possible for someone who has never touched a skateboard before to pick it up and learn. Building on the fundamentals of the sport, Hawk brings in two of his own protégés—his son and top-level street skateboarder, Riley Hawk, and top-level park skateboarder and future Olympian, Lizzie Armanto—to assist him in demonstrating intermediate and advanced tricks. For the first time, Hawk explains the methods and nuances to performing his signature tricks including the Madonna and the 540 McTwist. Each lesson will begin with an inspirational story from Hawk’s past, including how he was bullied as a kid and used skateboarding as an outlet. Throughout his class, Hawk revisits significant moments from his career as a professional skateboarder, including when he landed the first-ever 900 during the 1999 X Games and the night he landed a Kickflip McTwist for the first time. Hawk also shares an inside look into the creation of the iconic Activision video game Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. MasterClass members will come away from the class feeling inspired by Hawk’s perseverance and willing to try something new on or off the board.
To celebrate the launch, MasterClass and Hawk are teaming up for MasterClass presents Tony Hawk’s NBD / Best Trick Challenge, where 21 of the world’s best skaters, including Hawk himself, Bucky Lasek, Lizzie Armanto and Sky Brown among others, will compete for “Best Trick.” Starting June 24, videos of each trick will be shared on MasterClass’s and Hawk’s social media channels. After public voting ends, the winners will be announced by Hawk on June 29.
Hawk’s MasterClass joins the 85+ classes taught by world-renowned instructors on culinary arts, photography, writing, performance and much more. Each MasterClass has digestible video lessons sized to fit into any part of your day and cinematic visuals with close-up, hands-on demonstrations that make you feel one-on-one with the instructor. The All-Access Pass gives you access to every MasterClass and new ones as they launch. Learn on the go with mobile apps or in the comfort of your home with Apple TV®, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Roku® devices. Subscribe to greatness at MasterClass.com.
Popular Digital Asset Exchange, Bittrex Global has announced that it Now accepts Mastercard as a source to fund user accounts. This option compliments Bittrex Globals existing funding options which include Visa, debit cards and USD wire transfers.
The platform will make this funding option available to its users in 36 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America for a subjective 3 per cent processing fee.
Depending on the origin country of where the deposit is made from, daily and weekly funding limits will vary between $2,500-$10,000 US/EUR and monthly limits between $7,500 – $50,000 USD/EUR.
To fund an account using a Mastercard, the user must choose to make a credit card deposit to their holdings, select the desired amount, and input their Mastercard details. Some payment transactions may require additional authentication via the 3DSecure security protocol.
The verification will be bank specific and the funds will be credited to the user’s wallet after the transaction has been processed and approved.
The company hopes the introduction of Mastercard as a payment option will go a far way in “increasing adoption and accessibility to distributed ledger technology”.
Bitrrex Global continues to expand its international operations of its US-based company from its headquarters in Liechtenstein. The companies CEO, Bill Shihara has previously stated that the company is focused on doing the right thing by customers with security as a top priority.
Mastercard is widely accepted globally and hence it should come as no surprise that the platform added it as a funding source.
Jolly is a professional network for Freelance and Independent Workers. It’s aimed to help Independent workers to build their careers, network and reputation.
A Visit to its websites gives the impression that the platform is essentially a Mashup of Freelance platform, Upwork and the professional network LinkedIn. The only major difference between Jolly and these platforms however being its deddication to independent workers.
Features
You can say the functionalities are similar to LinkedIn, A user sign ups for an account after which the have a professional account. This account displays valuable professional information such as your resume, social links, positions, recommendations, past jobs, clients and endorsements just to name a few.
Each user has a profile page
Business can create and manage business accounts
A Jobs section like LinkedIn but Sourced from Craiglist and User posted jobs
Notify account holders of relevant jobs in their area.
A Progressive Web App (PWA) which means its Installable on your mobile device or desktop.
“Jolly’s also a middleman-free marketplace to hire/get hired: we never take a cut, from anyone.”
Users earn points called “Cred” for each post that their fellow Jolly users mark as helpful.
Each post can either be tagged as a Stories,Questions,Resources,Uplifting,Shout-out or Promotion.
Jolly is the work of Shelby Stevens (CEO/co-founder) and Zach Fragapano (COO/Co-founder). They are also joined by Ronak Gothi who rounds out the team as a Senior Engineer.
The team, 3 years ago initially started working on a SaaS based Freelance Management system for businesses which hire a lot of independent workers. They then realized massive need among both sides of the Independent Working experience in 2018 when they began Research and Development of Jolly.
The project is also backed by the popular American Seed Accelerator, Techstar via its Austin Techstar’s chapter. The completed the program earlier this year, March 2020.
So if you are looking for a LinkedIn/Upwork Mashup, Jolly is the professional network for Independent workers.
Globematcher, a new multiplayer blast game featuring tokidoki x Hello Kitty is now available via pre-launch. The game produced by Bitbuu Games from Mars1982 LTD offers players fun gameplay, iconic visuals, exclusive offers, special prizes and multiple worlds ready for conquest.
Expected to be one of the most enthusiastically received mobile games of the year, this innovative new match blast game combines the globally renowned design and visual impact of Hello Kitty and tokidoki with a fun and challenging multiplayer experience that anyone can play.
Transporting players to a fantastic galaxy featuring planets made of colorful — and tasty — candies, gamers must match colors to blast a path to the goal in this captivating land populated by Unicornos, exotic animals, pirates, mysterious light towers, and much more! Throughout the adventure players are accompanied by an exceptional fellow traveler: Hello Kitty dressed with a variety of iconic tokidoki characters and iconography.
Globematchers Jungle World, one of the available worlds.
The gameplay is simple-to-play, yet difficult to master as players must reach each goal to earn wisdom points to progress through to the next world and continue their journey. Between stages race challenges from other players provide an exhilarating experience, and additional variation is provided by mini-games along the way: a new way to play dice, challenge for yourself that includes chewing gum and hula hoop, an obstacle course full of prizes, and so much more. Finally, a weekly race will stimulate competition between friends, with the winner being awarded special prizes.
The tokidoki x Hello Kitty journey is available exclusively from today via global pre-registration at http://www.globematcher.com.
In this first phase, tokidoki, Sanrio, and Bitbuu are pleased to invite everyone to join the global countdown and be among the first to play this new, amazing game. Registering for pre-launch means becoming an active part of the project but in full Bitbuu style, it includes playing and having fun — with additional access to exclusive offers and special prizes.
Pre-launch players will also be invited to provide feedback, earning exclusive badges for their avatar in the process to become a top member.
Globematcher is Available now via exclusive pre-launch for iOS and Android.
