BetaNews

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BetaNews is online-only technology news publication based in Reston, Virginia, located on the web at www.betanews.com. Launched in 1998, the site originally posted news in a blog-like format before switching to a traditional online news format in the early part of this decade.

Stories from the site have been cited and referenced in Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, and New York Times. A content syndication agreement, though inactive, is in place with Ziff Davis Media.

While originally the site aimed to cover "beta news," the increasingly blurred line and popularity of betas began to muddy the sites niche. While it still focuses on emerging technologies, the articles are similar to those found on sites such as eWeek, CNET News.com, and other general tech news sites.

Latest user statistics indicate that the site receives approximately 12 million hits per month. It's target audience is 25-35 year old technology enthusiasts, but it says it attracts a "wide range of students, industry professionals, and corporate executives."

In 2000, BetaNews became part of eFront, an affiliate marketing company. The collapse of eFront in 2001 nearly took the news site with it, however following the company's collapse several of the original BetaNews employees reformed the site and repurchased the rights to it.

The site has gone through one major design revision, that being in 2001, which is still the design used by the site today. Another revision is said to be in the works during 2007.

One of the more recognizable aspects of BetaNews is FileForum, located at www.fileforum.com. Approximately 25,000 active titles are available, and its front page indicates users have downloaded files from the site over 186 million times, with Spybot Search and Destroy the top file.

The company employs at least four known writers presently: Nate Mook, Scott Fulton, Ed Oswald, and Tim Conneally.

No financial data on the company is available, as it is a private company.