17.05.

2012 Scribd - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia

1/7 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribd
Scribd
Type Private
Founded San Francisco, California, USA
(March 2007)
Headquarters San Francisco, California, USA
Key people Trip Adler (CEO, co-founder),
Jared Friedman (CTO, co-
founder),
Tikhon Bernstam (CIO, co-
founder)
Services Social reading and publishing
platform
Website Scribd.com
(http://www.scribd.com/)
Alexa rank 234
[1]
Type of site Social Software
Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese
Current
status
Active
Scribd
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scribd (pronounced /skrbd/) is a document-sharing
website that allows users to post documents of various
formats, and embed them into a web page using its iPaper
format. Scribd was founded by Trip Adler, Tikhon
Bernstam, and Jared Friedman in 2006.
[2]
Scribd's major
competitors are Docstoc, edocr, WePapers, and Issuu.
[3]
Contents
1 History
2 Awards/recognition
3 Timeline
4 Financials
5 Technology
6 Reception
7 Criticism
8 Controversy
9 Supported file formats
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
History
The idea for Scribd was originally inspired when Trip
Adler was at Harvard and had a conversation with his father, John R. Adler, about the difficulties of publishing
academic papers. He teamed up with cofounders Jared Friedman and Tikhon Bernstam and they attended Y
Combinator in Cambridge in the summer of 2006
[citation needed]
. Scribd was launched from a San Francisco
apartment in March 2007 and quickly grew in traffic. In 2008, it ranked as one of the top 20 social media sites
according to Comscore.
[4]
In June 2009, Scribd launched Scribd Store,
[5]
and shortly thereafter closed a deal
with Simon & Schuster to sell ebooks on Scribd.
[6]
Over 150 publishers including Random House, Wiley,
Workman, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Pearson, Harvard University Press and Stanford University Press are
now associated with Scribd. ProQuest began publishing dissertations and theses on Scribd in December 2009.
In October 2009, Scribd launched its branded reader for media companies with The New York Times, Los
Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and MediaBistro.
[7]
Over 100 media
companies now use Scribds branded reader to embed source material into their stories. In August 2010, news
stories began to break and documents and books began to go viral on Scribd including the overturned Prop 8
and HPs lawsuit against Mark Hurds move to Oracle.
Adler is currently the CEO of Scribd, where he is responsible for the product and strategic direction of the
company. BusinessWeek named Adler one of the Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2010.
[8]
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Awards/recognition
In September 2009, BusinessWeek named Scribd one the Worlds Most Intriguing Startups.
[9]
In December
2009, Forbes named Scribd one of its 10 Hot Startups.
[10]
Fast Company named Scribd One of its Top 10
Most Innovative Media Companies in February 2010.
[11]
In May 2010, Scribd was recognized as one of the 2010 Hottest San Francisco Companies by Lead411.
[12]
On September 1, 2010, the World Economic Forum announced the company as a Technology Pioneer for
2011.
[13][14]
After the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer Award, Time Magaine named Scribd
one of the 10 Start-Ups that Will Change Your Life.
[15]
Timeline
In February 2010, Scribd unveiled its first mobile plans for e-readers and smartphones.
[16]
In April 2010
Scribd launched a new feature called "Readcast"
[17]
which allows automatic sharing of documents on Facebook
and Twitter.
[18]
Also in April 2010, Scribd announced its integration of Facebook social plug-ins at the f8
Developer Conference.
[19]
Scribd rolled-out a re-design on September 13, 2010 to become according to TechCrunch, the social
network for reading.
[20]
Financials
The company was initially funded with US$12,000 from Y Combinator, and received over US$3.7 million in
June 2007 from Redpoint Ventures and The Kinsey Hills Group.
[21][22]
In December 2008, the company raised
US$9 million in a second round of funding, led by Charles River Ventures with re-investment from Redpoint
Ventures and Kinsey Hills Group, and hired as president George Consagra, former Bebo COO and managing
director of Organic Inc.
[23]
Consagra left Scribd and became CEO of Good Guide in August 2010.
David O. Sacks, former PayPal COO and founder of Yammer and Geni, joined Scribds board of directors in
January 2010. Scribd hired Robert Macdonald, former head of media and publisher partnerships at Google, in
July 2010 as its SVP of business development and opened a New York office.
[24]
Scribd also utilizes Google
Advertisements for revenue generation.
[25]
It also makes revenue from Scribd Store sales.
[26]
In August 2010 it
began beta testing premium services.
Prior to the $9 million round, Scribd was valued at $10 million. Their current valuation is likely much higher.
[3]
Technology
Scribd used iPaper, which is a rich document format similar to PDF built for the web, which allows users to
embed documents into a web page.
[27]
iPaper was built with Adobe Flash, allowing it to be viewed the same
across different operating systems (Windows, Mac OS, and Linux) without conversion, as long as the reader
has Flash installed (although Scribd has announced non-Flash support for the iPhone).
[28]
All major document
types can be formatted into iPaper including Word docs, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, OpenDocument
documents, OpenOffice.org XML documents, and PostScript files.
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All iPaper documents are hosted on Scribd. Scribd allows published documents to either be private or open to
the larger Scribd community. The iPaper document viewer is also embeddable in any website or blog, making it
simple to embed documents in their original layout regardless of file format.
Scribd iPaper requires that Flash cookies are enabled, which is the default setting in Flash.
[29]
If the
requirements are not met, there is no message; the white or gray display area is simply blank.
Scribd launched its own API to power external/third-party applications, however, only a few applications use
this API.
[30]
Its revenue model has gained coverage on numerous blogs such as TechCrunch.
On May 5, 2010, Scribd launched the largest implementation of HTML5 to date at the Web 2.0 Conference in
San Francisco.
[31]
TechCrunch reported that Scribd is migrating away from Flash to HTML5. "Scribd co-
founder and chief technology officer Jared Friedman tells me: We are scrapping three years of Flash
development and betting the company on HTML5 because we believe HTML5 is a dramatically better reading
experience than Flash. Now any document can become a Web page."
[32]
In July 2010 Publishers Weekly
wrote a cover story on Scribd entitled Betting the House on HTML5.
[33]
Reception
Scribd has been praised by several newspapers and has been dubbed as the potential "YouTube for
documents".
[34]
Notable users of Scribd include Virginia senator Mark Warner.
[35]
Former California gubernatorial candidate
Meg Whitman, New York Times DealBook reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, All Things D Reporter Kara
Swisher, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Red Cross, UNICEF, World Economic
Forum, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, The World Bank, Ford Motor Company,
HewlettPackard, Samsung and the Living Torah.
Scribd has currently more than 50 million users and it hosts more than tens of millions of documents. Scribd's
documents are embedded more than 10 million times across the web and more than 1.8 million searches are
conducted on Scribd's website everyday.
[36]
Criticism
Scribd has often been accused of copyright infringement. In March 2009 Scribd launched a copyright
management system and has made upgrades to the system including the addition of OCR. The New York Times
reported in May 2009 that Scribd hosted pirated works by authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin.
[37]
In September 2009 American author Elaine Scott alleged that Scribd "shamelessly profits from the stolen
copyrighted works of innumerable authors."
[38]
Her attorneys Joe Sibley and Kiwi Camara sought class action
status in their efforts to win damages from Scribd for allegedly "egregious copyright infringement."
[39][40]
On
May 11, 2009, Motoko Rich, writing in the New York Times, reported on Scribd hosting pirated works. Sibley
Camara filed a class action lawsuit against Scribd, accusing it of calculated copyright infringement for profit.
[41]
The suit was dropped in July 2010.
[42]
In 2007, one year after its inception, Scribd had been served with 25 DMCA take down notices.
[43]
It is not
known how many DMCA have been served up to now.
Controversy
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In March 2009 the passwords of several Comcast customers were leaked on Scribd. The passwords were later
removed when the news was published by The New York Times.
[44][45][46]
In July 2010, GigaOM reported that the script of The Social Network movie was uploaded and leaked on
Scribd and promptly taken down per Sonys DMCA request.
[citation needed]
In August 2010, Scribd began beta testing premium services including the Scribd Archive. The test was met
with minor community backlash leading Scribd to make changes to its policies. Now when trying to download
almost any document from Scribd, users are asked to pay for it first via their premium content service.
Supported file formats
Supported formats include:
[47]
Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlsx)
Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps, .pptx, .ppsx)
Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
OpenDocument (.odt, .odp, .ods, .odf, .odg)
OpenOffice.org XML (.sxw, .sxi, .sxc, .sxd)
Plain text (.txt)
Portable document format (.pdf)
PostScript (.ps)
Rich text format (.rtf)
Tagged image file format (.tif, .tiff)
See also
Docstoc
Google Docs
Issuu
Wayback Machine
WePapers
Webcite
Yudu Media
References
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"Scribd raises 9 million" (http://gigaom.com/2008/12/19/scribd-raises-9-million-still-working-on-business/)

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blowout-year-and-so-did-the-web-document/.
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(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/technology/start-ups/18download.html) . The New York Times.
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6. ^ Brad Stone (11 July 2009). "Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com"
(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/technology/internet/12books.html) . The New York Times.
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desk-of-your-news-outlet-and-scribd/) . Reuters. 2009-10-07.
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technology-breakthroughs-startups_slide_3.html) . Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/03/zynga-
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companies.html) . http://www.lead411.com/san-francisco-companies.html.
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(http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20News%20Releases/NR_TP2011) .
http://www.weforum.org/en/media/Latest%20News%20Releases/NR_TP2011.
14. ^ "Foursquare, Scribd, And Spotify To Be Dubbed 2011 Technology Pioneers At Davos"
(http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/01/technology-pioneers-2011-foursquare-scribd-spotify/) . TechCrunch.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/01/technology-pioneers-2011-foursquare-scribd-spotify/. Retrieved 2010-09-
01.
15. ^ "Tech Pioneers: 10 Start-Ups That Will Change Your Life"
(http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2017050_2017049_2017046,00.html) . Time.
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2017050_2017049_2017046,00.html. Retrieved
2010-01-01.
16. ^ Fowler, Geoffrey A. (2010-02-10). "Scribd Plans Mobile Application"
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704140104575057501723639926.html) . Wall Street Journal.
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17. ^ "Scribd gets 'Readcasting': Autosharing made easy" (http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20003081-
248.html?tag=mncol) . CNet. http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20003081-248.html?tag=mncol. Retrieved
2010-04-21.
18. ^ "Scribd launches readcast" (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Scribd-Launches-Readcast-
Integrates-With-Facebook-Social-Plugins-Make-Reading-More-Social-1151594.htm) . Marketwire.
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Scribd-Launches-Readcast-Integrates-With-Facebook-Social-
Plugins-Make-Reading-More-Social-1151594.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
19. ^ "Scribd's bet on the Facebook Effect" (http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/21/scribds-bet-on-the-facebook-
effect/) . CNN. 2010-04-21. http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/21/scribds-bet-on-the-facebook-effect/.
Retrieved 2010-04-21.
20. ^ "Scribd Redesign Is An Attempt To Become A "Social Network For Reading""
(http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/scribd-redesign/) . TechCrunch. http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/scribd-
redesign/. Retrieved 2010-09-13.
21. ^ "Scribd Banks $3.5 Million from Redpoint" (http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/scribd-banks-35-
million-from-redpoint/) . http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/scribd-banks-35-million-from-redpoint/.
22. ^ "Scribd" (http://www.crunchbase.com/company/scribd#src4) .
http://www.crunchbase.com/company/scribd#src4.
23. ^ "Scribd raises $9 million, hires new president for social publishing"
(http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/19/scribd-raises-9-million-hires-new-president-for-social-publishing/) .
http://venturebeat.com/2008/12/19/scribd-raises-9-million-hires-new-president-for-social-publishing/.
17.05.2012 Scribd - Wikipedia, the free encclopedia
6/7 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scribd
24. ^ "Digital Musical Chairs: Google Exec to Scribd, Apple Exec to AOL, Yahoo Exec to Google!"
(http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100719/digital-musical-chairs-google-exec-to-scribd-apple-exec-to-aol-yahoo-
exec-to-google/?mod=ATD_search) . All Things Digital. http://kara.allthingsd.com/20100719/digital-musical-
chairs-google-exec-to-scribd-apple-exec-to-aol-yahoo-exec-to-google/?mod=ATD_search. Retrieved 2010-07-
19.
25. ^ "Scribd" (http://www.appappeal.com/app/scribd/) . appappeal.com. 29 March 2009.
http://www.appappeal.com/app/scribd/. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
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adler-youtube) . London: guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/22/scribd-trip-adler-
youtube. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
27. ^ "iPaper: a Simple Way to View and Share Documents on the Web"
(http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2008/02/ipaper-a-simple.html) .
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2008/02/ipaper-a-simple.html.
28. ^ "Scribd on your iPhone" (http://blog.scribd.com/2008/04/05/scribd-on-your-iphone/) .
http://blog.scribd.com/2008/04/05/scribd-on-your-iphone/.
29. ^ "Global Storage Settings panel"
(http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager03.html) .
Macromedia.com.
http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager03.html. Retrieved
2009-02-01.
30. ^ "Scribd SAP Largest API Integration Press Release" (http://www.scribd.com/doc/29110682/Scribd-SAP-
Largest-API-Integration-Press-Release) . Scribd. 2009-03-10. http://www.scribd.com/doc/29110682/Scribd-
SAP-Largest-API-Integration-Press-Release. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
31. ^ "HTML5 and The Future of Publishing"
(http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2010/public/schedule/detail/15348) . Web 2.0 Expo.
http://www.web2expo.com/webexsf2010/public/schedule/detail/15348. Retrieved 2010-05-06.
32. ^ Erick Schonfeld (May 5, 2010). "Scribd CTO: We Are Scrapping Flash And Betting The Company On
HTML5" (http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/scribd-html5/) . http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/scribd-html5/.
Retrieved October 11, 2010.
33. ^ "Betting the House on HTML 5" (http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-
books/article/43942-betting-the-house-on-html5.html) . Publishers Weekly.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43942-betting-the-house-on-
html5.html. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
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techcrunch.com. 29 March 2009. http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/06/scribd-youtube-for-text-gets-300k/.
Retrieved 1 January 2010.
35. ^ "Mark Warner" (http://www.scribd.com/MarkWarner) . scribd.com. 29 March 2009.
http://www.scribd.com/MarkWarner. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
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http://www.crunchbase.com/company/scribd. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
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(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/technology/internet/12digital.html?em) . The New York Times.
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(http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/21/scribd-lawsuit) . The Guardian (London).
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(http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-93.html) . http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-
93.html. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
40. ^ Motoko Rich (2009-09-19). "Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd" (http://news.cnet.com/8301-
1023_3-10357108-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5) . CNET News.com.
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2009-09-19.
41. ^ "Class Action Copyright Suit Filed Against Scribd... By Jammie Thomas' Lawyers?"
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42. ^ "Lawsuit Saying Scribd's Copyright-Protection Filters Infringe On Copyrights Has Been Dumped"
(http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090919/1907586243.shtml/) . Scribd. TechDirt. 19 July 2009.
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090919/1907586243.shtml/. Retrieved 24 September 2010.
43. ^ "Scribd looks like a winner" (http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/25/scribd-growing-like-youtube/) . Scribd.
TechCrunch. 29 March 2009. http://techcrunch.com/2007/03/25/scribd-growing-like-youtube/. Retrieved 1
January 2010.
44. ^ Stone, Brad (29 March 2009). "passwords of comcast customers exposed"
(http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/passwords-of-8000-comcast-customers-exposed/) . nytimes.com.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/passwords-of-8000-comcast-customers-exposed/. Retrieved 1
January 2010.
45. ^ "Comcast passwords leaked onto the web" (http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10197789-83.html) .
cnet.com. 29 March 2009. http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10197789-83.html. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
46. ^ "Comcast passwords exposed" (http://hothardware.com/News/Comcast-User-Names-and-Passwords-
Exposed/) . hothardware.com. 29 March 2009. http://hothardware.com/News/Comcast-User-Names-and-
Passwords-Exposed/. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
47. ^ Jason (February 26, 2009). "Info, FAQs, and Forums/FAQ: Writing, Uploading and Managing Documents"
(http://support.scribd.com/forums/35566/entries/25092) .
http://support.scribd.com/forums/35566/entries/25092. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
External links
Official website (http://www.scribd.com/)
Video: 'YouTube' for writers
(http://money.cnn.com/video/ft/#/video/fortune/2009/01/26/fortune.disruptors.scribd.fortune)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scribd&oldid=492793410"
Categories: File sharing communities Online companies Web 2.0 American websites
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Internet properties established in 2007 2007 establishments in the United States Ebook suppliers
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