Webshots: Difference between revisions
moving Kiwee Toolbar discussion to Talk, and some cosmetic clean up Tag: references removed |
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On October 25, 2007, CNET announced that it had sold Webshots to [[American Greetings]] for $45 million in cash.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071025/cnet_webshots.html?.v=2 | title=CNet Sells Webshots for $45 Million | publisher=[[Yahoo! News]] via [[Associated Press|AP]] | date=2007-10-25 | accessdate=2007-11-14 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071028063843/http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071025/cnet_webshots.html?.v=2 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-10-28}}</ref> Webshots joined the American Greetings Interactive unit and was reunited with another former Excite@Home property -- the eCard website Blue Mountain. |
On October 25, 2007, CNET announced that it had sold Webshots to [[American Greetings]] for $45 million in cash.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071025/cnet_webshots.html?.v=2 | title=CNet Sells Webshots for $45 Million | publisher=[[Yahoo! News]] via [[Associated Press|AP]] | date=2007-10-25 | accessdate=2007-11-14 |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20071028063843/http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071025/cnet_webshots.html?.v=2 <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-10-28}}</ref> Webshots joined the American Greetings Interactive unit and was reunited with another former Excite@Home property -- the eCard website Blue Mountain. |
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==Business Model |
==Business Model== |
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Webshots has been in business since 1995 and has made use of various means of deriving revenue from services, including banner advertising, paid sponsorships, software bundling, branded downloads, client software advertising, co-registration deals, software sales, premium memberships, and print and gift merchandise sales. |
Webshots has been in business since 1995 and has made use of various means of deriving revenue from services, including banner advertising, paid sponsorships, software bundling, branded downloads, client software advertising, co-registration deals, software sales, premium memberships, and print and gift merchandise sales. |
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Users can become "Premium Members" for an annual fee which allows them to view the site without ads and also to upload a larger number of images to their own galleries. All members get a free homepage where they can share up to 1,000+ photos publicly with friends, family, and anyone who comes across it. Webshots Premium allows for 5,000+ photos, and 500 more are added to one's capacity each month ([http://www.webshots.com/html/matrix.html feature chart of membership plans]). The site offers an automatic notification feature that tells users when their favorite members have added new photos. Members also have the option to share their photos privately. |
Users can become "Premium Members" for an annual fee which allows them to view the site without ads and also to upload a larger number of images to their own galleries. All members get a free homepage where they can share up to 1,000+ photos publicly with friends, family, and anyone who comes across it. Webshots Premium allows for 5,000+ photos, and 500 more are added to one's capacity each month ([http://www.webshots.com/html/matrix.html feature chart of membership plans]). The site offers an automatic notification feature that tells users when their favorite members have added new photos. Members also have the option to share their photos privately. |
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== |
==Free and Premium Memberships == |
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The following are the main differences between the two types of memberships offered by the site [http://www.webshots.com/html/matrix.html] |
The following are the main differences between the two types of memberships offered by the site [http://www.webshots.com/html/matrix.html] |
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In addition, the site offers to all its members Public, Private, and Invited albums. These can be managed either on the web or via the Webshots Desktop client software. |
In addition, the site offers to all its members Public, Private, and Invited albums. These can be managed either on the web or via the Webshots Desktop client software. |
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== Controversy with malware distribution== |
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In 2010, Webshots employed its Webshots Desktop Application (a free program that users can download from their site to manage their online pictures<ref>http://www.webshots.com/page/apps?app=proshotsheader&vhost=www</ref>) to help install the controverted [[Kiwee Toolbar]] as part of a software update for this program<ref>http://blog.webshots.com/?p=1285</ref>. This generated a lot of complaints from its users due to the intrusive nature of the bundled software. |
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Once installed in a computer, this toolbar cannot be removed by regular means. There are a large number of questions posted in different Internet forums asking how to remove it, as well as specialized guides and videos showing how achieve this <ref>http://www.google.com/search?q=Kiwee+Toolbar</ref> |
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Users are advised to use unorthodox methods (including manually deleting directories, unlocking files, stopping processes, unregistering DLL files and/or deleting registry entries) <ref>http://www.spywarevoid.com/remove-kiwee-toolbar-kiwee-removal-guide.html</ref> <ref>http://remove-malware.net/how-to-remove-kiwee-toolbar</ref> <ref>http://www.sysgear.org/2011/05/how-to-delete-the-kiwee-toolbar</ref> in order to completely remove the software. This is the typical modus-operandi of viruses and other [[malware]] in general. |
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Kiwee toolbar is potentially dangerous because it may install additional malware onto the compromised computer and collect user-identifying information possibly resulting in privacy violations and identity theft. As of 2011, Webshots was still classified as EMD (sites engaged in malware distribution)<ref>http://www.hosts-file.net/?s=webshots.com</ref> by hpHosts, a community dedicated to protecting Internet users against access to ad, tracking and malicious websites<ref>http://www.hosts-file.net/</ref>. |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Revision as of 05:13, 28 February 2012
| File:WebshotsNew.PNG | |
| Company type | Photo/Video hosting service |
|---|---|
| Founded | San Diego, California (September 1995) |
| Founder | Andrew Laakmann Dana Laakmann Nick Wilder Narendra Rocherolle |
| Owner | American Greetings |
Webshots is an online photo and video sharing service owned by American Greetings.
History
Webshots was created in 1995 by Auralis, Inc. in San Diego, California. It was initially a sports oriented screen saver sold at retail for desktop computers. Founders Andrew Laakmann, Danna Laakmann, Nick Wilder, and Narendra Rocherolle migrated the desktop software to the Web and became one of the earliest instances of photo sharing found online. The Webshots Community launched in 1999 as the first photo sharing website with an emphasis on public sharing.[1]
In October 1999, Webshots was sold to Excite@Home for $82.5 million dollars in stock.[2] The service continued to grow and when Excite@Home declared bankruptcy at the end of 2001, the Webshots assets were purchased back by the founders for $2.5 million dollars in cash.[3]
By 2001 Webshots became a profitable company with a combination of revenue streams that included advertising, freemium service, and merchandising. By 2004, Webshots was making grossing $15M/year, had more than 200,000 paid subscribers, and was the #1 photo sharing site and top 50 media property per ComScore.[4]. In the same year, Alexa ranked Webshots the second largest english language privately held Web media property (behind weather.com).[5] The company was sold to CNET Networks for $71 million in cash.[6] During this period, new photo sharing services began to emerge to service different markets. Flickr became very popular with bloggers and prosumers. Facebook photos took over at universities. Photobucket became the default service on MySpace and SmugMug carved out a paid service for family albums and professional photographers.
On October 25, 2007, CNET announced that it had sold Webshots to American Greetings for $45 million in cash.[7] Webshots joined the American Greetings Interactive unit and was reunited with another former Excite@Home property -- the eCard website Blue Mountain.
Business Model
Webshots has been in business since 1995 and has made use of various means of deriving revenue from services, including banner advertising, paid sponsorships, software bundling, branded downloads, client software advertising, co-registration deals, software sales, premium memberships, and print and gift merchandise sales.
Users can become "Premium Members" for an annual fee which allows them to view the site without ads and also to upload a larger number of images to their own galleries. All members get a free homepage where they can share up to 1,000+ photos publicly with friends, family, and anyone who comes across it. Webshots Premium allows for 5,000+ photos, and 500 more are added to one's capacity each month (feature chart of membership plans). The site offers an automatic notification feature that tells users when their favorite members have added new photos. Members also have the option to share their photos privately.
Free and Premium Memberships
The following are the main differences between the two types of memberships offered by the site [1]
- Webshot displays various ads when users browse its contents as a free members. The ads are removed once the users log in with their paid Premium memberships.
- Premium members get "Premium customer support". The support provided to free members is unknown
- Exclusive, hi-res and widescreen pro shots are exclusive to premium members. Free members can only download 5 premium shots per day.
- Free members can only backup one album in their computer and see statistics of only three albums.
In addition, the site offers to all its members Public, Private, and Invited albums. These can be managed either on the web or via the Webshots Desktop client software.
See also
References
- ^ "Excite@Home's Webshots Ranked #1 Online Photo Destination". Business Wire. 2000-04-20.
- ^ "Ocean Beach Webshots is sold for $82 million". San Diego Union Tribune. 1999-12-14.
- ^ "Webshots Co-Founders Buy Back Service at $80 Million Discount". Associated Press.
{{cite news}}: Text "2002-01-04" ignored (help) - ^ "You Ought To Be in Pixels". The New York Times. 2004-05-09.
- ^ "Alexa Rankings February 2004". 2004-02-01.
- ^ "CNET Networks to Acquire Webshots; Webshots is Leading Photography Web site; Over 14 Million Monthly Visitors". Business Wire. 2004-07-14. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ "CNet Sells Webshots for $45 Million". Yahoo! News via AP. 2007-10-25. Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2007-11-14.