''FindArticles'' was a
website which provided access to articles previously published in over 3,000 magazines, newspapers, journals, business reports and other sources.
The site offered free and paid content through the
HighBeam Research database.
In 2007, ''FindArticles'' accessed over 11 million resource articles, going back to 1998.
As it grew, ''FindArticles'' moved away from an all-free model driven by advertising
to a mixture of free and paid content.
History
2000–2007: Founding and growth
''FindArticles'' was founded in 2000
as a partnership between
LookSmart
LookSmart is an American search advertising, content management, online media, and technology company. It provides search, machine learning and chatbot technologies as well as pay-per-click and contextual advertising services.
LookSmart also li ...
, which authored the
search
Searching or search may refer to:
Computing technology
* Search algorithm, including keyword search
** :Search algorithms
* Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence
* Search engine technology, software for findi ...
technology, and the
Gale Group, which provided the articles for a fee.
By early-August 2000, the ''FindArticles'' database contained more than 862,000 articles and by September 2000, the database contained more than 1 million articles.
In September 2004,
HighBeam Research announced that it would make 1 million premium articles from its database accessible via ''FindArticles''. By May 2005, ''FindArticles'' contained more than 5 million articles in its database.
In November 2006, ''FindArticles'' reported over 17.6 million unique visitors to their site.
In April 2007, LookSmart partnered with
Blinkx to power ''FindArticles''
' video search results.
2007–present: CNET purchase and CNET ownership
''FindArticles'' remained a part of LookSmart throughout the various changes in that company until it was sold to
CNET Networks for $20.5 million on November 9, 2007, as part of a larger sell-off of LookSmart properties.
Looksmart's need to offload non-critical assets in the wake of poor corporate performance, along with CNET's commensurate desire to expand its library of offerings, motivated the deal.
''FindArticles
SEO value—i.e., the frequency with which its articles appear as search engine results—likely factored into the final purchase price.
''FindArticles'' had been part of the
BNET division of CNET Networks
and is currently owned by
CBS Interactive.
Notes
{{CBS Interactive
Internet properties established in 2000
Online publishing companies of the United States
Bibliographic databases and indexes
Defunct CBS Interactive websites