Webshots is a photo wallpaper and screensaver service owned and operated by Threefold Photos. It was also a photo sharing service from 1999 to 2012.
History
Webshots was created in 1995 by Auralis, Inc. in San Diego, California. It was initially a sports oriented
screen saver
Screen Savers or screensaver or ''variation'', may refer to:
* Screensaver, computer programs intended to preserve CRT monitors from "burn-in"
** GNOME ''Screensaver'', GNOME Project's screen blanking tool
** Google Pack ''Screensaver'', a termi ...
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
Image sharing, or photo sharing, is the publishing or transfer of digital photos online. Image sharing websites offer services such as uploading, hosting, managing and sharing of photos (publicly or privately). This function is provided through ...
found online. The Webshots Community launched in 1999 as the first photo sharing website with an emphasis on public sharing.
In October 1999, Webshots was sold to
Excite@Home
@Home Network was a high-speed cable Internet service provider from 1996 to 2002. It was founded by Milo Medin, cable companies Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), Comcast, and Cox Communications, and William Randolph Hearst III, who was their f ...
for $82.5 million in stock. 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 in cash.
By 2001 Webshots became a profitable company with a combination of revenue streams that included advertising,
freemium
Freemium, a portmanteau of the words "free" and "premium," is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money (a premium) is charged for additional features, services, or virtual (online) or physical (o ...
service, and merchandising. By 2004, Webshots was grossing $15M/year, had more than 200,000 paid subscribers, and was the #1 photo sharing site and top 50 media property per ComScore. In the same year,
Alexa
Alexa may refer to: Technology
*Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant developed by Amazon
* Alexa Internet, a defunct website ranking and traffic analysis service
* Arri Alexa, a digital motion picture camera
People
*Alexa (name), a given name and ...
ranked Webshots the second largest English language privately held Web media property (behind weather.com). The company was sold to
CNET Networks
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
for $71 million in cash. During this period, new photo sharing services began to emerge to service different markets.
Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
became very popular with bloggers.
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
photos took over at universities.
Photobucket became the default service on
MySpace and
SmugMug
SmugMug is a paid image sharing, image hosting service, and online video platform on which users can upload photos and videos. The company also facilitates the sale of digital and print media for amateur and professional photographers. On April ...
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
American Greetings Corporation is a privately owned American company and is the world's second largest greeting card producer behind Hallmark Cards. Based in Westlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland, the company sells paper greeting ...
for $45 million in cash. Webshots joined the American Greetings Interactive unit and was reunited with another former Excite@Home property—the eCard website Blue Mountain.
On October 2, 2012, American Greetings sold Webshots to Threefold Photos, Inc. The image hosting service was shut down on December 1, 2012. Webshots relaunched as a photo sharing service called Smile by Webshots; however, the service no longer exists. In May 2013, Threefold Photos introduced Webshots Wallpaper & Screensaver, a nod to the original service, which is a desktop application for Windows and macOS and comes with a sampler of free high-resolution professional photos. Subscribers have access to over 5,000 images, with new images published daily. Webshots also offers an app for Android and iOS.
Webshots Business Models
Webshots has been in business since 1995 and has derived revenue from various 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. In 2010 American Greetings bundled
Kiwee Toolbar with the Webshots Desktop and generated some complaints and controversy because of the toolbar's labeling as malware. It was unbundled in 2011.
Webshots currently offers a free trial software version and a premium service (with monthly and annual options) which offers subscribers two new professional photos a day and complete access to a gallery of professional photos. Some pages of the webshots.com website also serve advertisements.
See also
*
Image hosting service
{{internet hosting, right
An image hosting service allows individuals to upload images to an Internet website. The image host will then store the image onto its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view that i ...
*
Image sharing
Image sharing, or photo sharing, is the publishing or transfer of digital photos online. Image sharing websites offer services such as uploading, hosting, managing and sharing of photos (publicly or privately). This function is provided through ...
Similar services
*
Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
, a popular Image hosting service with over 100 million registered members and 10 billion images. Flickr gives its free members 1
terabyte
The byte is a units of information, unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character (computing), character of text in a computer and for this ...
of space to upload content.
References
{{Reflist
[Chase Galbraith]
"Ocean Beach Webshots is sold for $82 million"
''Cheap Website Designs Blog'', 25/06/2017
External links
Webshots.com
Image-sharing websites
American photography websites
Internet properties established in 1995
1995 establishments in California