Scribd

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Scribd/skrbd/isadigitallibraryandebook,
audiobookandcomicbooksubscriptionservicethat
includesonemilliontitles.[2][3][4][5]Inaddition,Scribd
hosts60milliondocumentsonitsopenpublishing
platform.[6]
Foundedin2007byTripAdler,JaredFriedmanand
TikhonBernstamandheadquarteredinSanFrancisco,
California,thecompanyisbackedbyKhosla
Ventures,YCombinator,CharlesRiverVentures,and
RedpointVentures.[7]Scribd'sebooksubscription
serviceisavailableonAndroidandiOSsmartphones
andtablets,aswellastheKindleFire,Nook,and
personalcomputers.Subscriberscanaccessunlimited
booksfrom1,000publishers,including
HarperCollins,Simon&Schuster,Harlequin,
HoughtonMifflinHarcourt,Macmillan,Bloomsbury,
Workman,LonelyPlanet,PerseusBookGroupand
Wiley.[8][9]
Scribdaddedaudiobookstotheirsubscriptionservice
inNovember2014andcomicbooksinFebruary
2015.[10][11]Scribdhas80millionusers,andhasbeen
referredtoastheNetflixforbooks.[12][13][14]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Founding(20072013)
1.2 Subscriptionservice(2013present)
1.3 Audiobooks
1.4 Comics
2 Timeline
3 Financials
4 Technology
5 Reception

Scribd

Type

Private

Founded

SanFrancisco,California,USA
(March2007)

Headquarters SanFrancisco,California,USA
Keypeople

TripAdler(CEO,cofounder),
JaredFriedman(CTO,cofounder),
TikhonBernstam(COO,co
founder)

Services

Socialreadingandpublishing
platform

Website

Scribd.com
(http://www.scribd.com/)

Alexarank

411(February2015)[1]

Typeofsite

SocialSoftware

Availablein

English,Spanish,Portuguese

Current
status

Active

5.1 Accusationsofcopyright
infringement
5.2 Controversies
5.3 BookID
6 Supportedfileformats
7 Seealso
8 References
9 Externallinks

History
Founding(20072013)
Scribdbeganasasitetohostandsharedocuments.[13]WhileatHarvard,TripAdlerwasinspiredtostart
Scribdafterlearningaboutthelengthyprocessrequiredtopublishacademicpapers.[15]Hisfather,a
doctoratStanford,wastolditwouldtake18monthstohavehismedicalresearchpublished.[15]Adler
wantedtocreateasimplewaytopublishandsharewrittencontentonline.[16]HecofoundedScribd
withJaredFriedmanandattendedtheinauguralclassofYCombinatorinthesummerof2006.[17]There,
Scribdreceiveditsinitial$12,000inseedfundingandthenlaunchedinaSanFranciscoapartmentin
March2007.[6]
ScribdwascalledtheYoutubefordocuments,allowinganyonetoselfpublishonthesiteusingits
documentreader.[15]ThedocumentreaderturnsPDFs,Worddocuments,andPowerPointsintoWeb
documentsthatcanbesharedonanywebsitethatallowsembeds.[18]Initsfirstyear,Scribdgrew218
percentwith23.5millionvisitorsasofNovember2008.[19]Italsorankedasoneofthetop20social
mediasitesaccordingtoComscore.[20]
InJune2009,ScribdlaunchedtheScribdStore,enablingwriterstoeasilyuploadandselldigitalcopies
oftheirworkonline.[21]Thatsamemonth,thesitepartneredwithSimon&Schustertosellebookson
Scribd.[22]Thedealmadedigitaleditionsof5,000titlesavailableforpurchaseonScribd,including
booksfrombestsellingauthorslikeStephenKing,DanBrown,andMaryHigginsClark.[23]
InOctober2009,ScribdlauncheditsbrandedreaderformediacompaniesincludingTheNewYork
Times,LosAngelesTimes,ChicagoTribune,TheHuffingtonPost,TechCrunch,andMediaBistro.[24]
ProQuestbeganpublishingdissertationsandthesesonScribdinDecember2009.[25]InAugust2010,
manynotabledocumentshostedonScribdbegantogoviral,includingtheCaliforniaProposition8
ruling,whichreceived6,000viewspersecond,andHPslawsuitagainstMarkHurdsmoveto
Oracle.[26][27]

Subscriptionservice(2013present)

InOctober2013,Scribdofficiallylaunchedits
unlimitedsubscriptionserviceforebooks.[28]This
gaveusersunlimitedaccesstoScribdslibraryof
digitalbooksforaflatmonthlyfee.[29]The
companyalsoannouncedapartnershipwith
HarperCollinswhichmadetheentirebacklistof
HarperCollinscatalogavailableonthesubscription
service.[30]AccordingtoChantalRestivoAlessi,
chiefdigitalofficeratHarperCollins,thismarkedthe
firsttimethatthepublisherhasreleasedsuchalarge
portionofitscatalog.[31]InMarch2014,Scribd
announcedadealwithLonelyPlanet,offeringthe
travelpublishersentirelibraryonitssubscription
service.[32]
InMay2014,Scribdfurtherincreaseditssubscriptionofferingwith10,000titlesfromSimon&
Schuster.[33]Thesetitlesincludedworksfromauthorssuchas:StephenKing,DorisKearnsGoodwin,
RayBradbury,MaryHigginsClark,WalterIsaacson,ChuckKlosterman,DavidMcCullough,and
ErnestHemingway.[34]

Audiobooks
InNovember2014,Scribdaddedaudiobookstoitssubscriptionlibrary.[35]Wirednotedthatthiswas
thefirstsubscriptionservicetoofferunlimitedaccesstoaudiobooks,anditrepresentsamuchlarger
shiftinthewaydigitalcontentisconsumedoverthenet.[36]InApril2015,thecompanyexpandedits
audiobookcataloginadealwithPenguinRandomHouse.[37]Thisadded9,000audiobookstoits
platformincludingtitlesfromauthorslikeLenaDunham,JohnGrisham,GillianFlynn,andGeorgeR.R.
Martin.[38]

Comics
InFebruary2015,Scribdintroducedcomicstoitssubscriptionservice.[39]Thecompanyadded10,000
comicsandgraphicnovelsfrompublishersincludingMarvel,Archie,Boom!Studios,Dynamite,IDW,
andValiant.[11]Throughtheservice,subscribersnowhadaccesstoseriessuchasGuardiansofthe
Galaxy,Daredevil,XOManowar,andTheAvengers.[40][41]

Timeline
InFebruary2010,Scribdunveileditsfirstmobileplansforereadersandsmartphones.[42]InApril2010
Scribdlaunchedanewfeaturecalled"Readcast",[43]whichallowsautomaticsharingofdocumentson
FacebookandTwitter.[44]AlsoinApril2010,ScribdannounceditsintegrationofFacebooksocialplug
insattheFacebookf8DeveloperConference.[45]
ScribdrolledoutaredesignonSeptember13,2010tobecome,accordingtoTechCrunch,"thesocial
networkforreading".[46]

InOctober2013,Scribdlauncheditsebooksubscriptionservice,allowingreaderstopayaflatmonthly
feeinexchangeforunlimitedaccesstoallofScribd'sbooktitles.[47]

Financials
ThecompanywasinitiallyfundedwithUS$12,000fromYCombinatorin2006,andreceivedover
US$3.7millioninJune2007fromRedpointVenturesandTheKinseyHillsGroup.[48][49]InDecember
2008,thecompanyraisedUS$9millioninasecondroundoffundingledbyCharlesRiverVentures
withreinvestmentfromRedpointVenturesandKinseyHillsGroup.[50]DavidO.Sacks,formerPayPal
COOandfounderofYammerandGeni,joinedScribdsboardofdirectorsinJanuary2010.[51]
InJanuary2011,ScribdraisedanadditionalUS$13millioninaroundledbyMLCInvestmentsof
AustraliaandSVBCapital.[52]InJanuary2015,thecompanyraisedUS$22millioninnewfundingfrom
KhoslaVentureswithpartnerKeithRaboisjoiningtheScribdboardofdirectors.[53]

Technology
InJuly2008,ScribdbeganusingiPaper,arichdocumentformatsimilartoPDFbuiltfortheweb,which
allowsuserstoembeddocumentsintoawebpage.[54]iPaperwasbuiltwithAdobeFlash,allowingitto
beviewedthesameacrossdifferentoperatingsystems(Windows,MacOS,andLinux)without
conversion,aslongasthereaderhasFlashinstalled(althoughScribdhasannouncednonFlashsupport
fortheiPhone).[55]AllmajordocumenttypescanbeformattedintoiPaperincludingWorddocs,
PowerPointpresentations,PDFs,OpenDocumentdocuments,OpenOffice.orgXMLdocuments,and
PostScriptfiles.
AlliPaperdocumentsarehostedonScribd.Scribdallowspublisheddocumentstoeitherbeprivateor
opentothelargerScribdcommunity.TheiPaperdocumentviewerisalsoembeddableinanywebsiteor
blog,makingitsimpletoembeddocumentsintheiroriginallayoutregardlessoffileformat.Scribd
iPaperrequiredFlashcookiestobeenabled,whichisthedefaultsettinginFlash.[56]
OnMay5,2010,ScribdannouncedthattheywouldbeconvertingtheentiresitetoHTML5attheWeb
2.0ConferenceinSanFrancisco.[57]TechCrunchreportedthatScribdismigratingawayfromFlashto
HTML5."ScribdcofounderandchieftechnologyofficerJaredFriedmantellsme:'Wearescrapping
threeyearsofFlashdevelopmentandbettingthecompanyonHTML5becausewebelieveHTML5isa
dramaticallybetterreadingexperiencethanFlash.NowanydocumentcanbecomeaWebpage.'"[58]In
July2010PublishersWeeklywroteacoverstoryonScribdentitled"BettingtheHouseonHTML5."[59]
ScribdhasitsownAPItointegrateexternal/thirdpartyapplications,[60]butisnolongerofferingnew
APIaccounts.[61]
Since2010,Scribdhasbeenavailableonmobilephonesandereaders,inadditiontopersonal
computers.AsofDecember2013,ScribdisavailablethroughthevariousappstoresoniOSandAndroid
smartphonesandtablets,aswellastheKindleFireandNooktablets.

Reception

Scribdhasbeenpraisedbyseveralnewspapersandmagazines,includingTheNewYorkTimes,Fast
Company,Forbes,andTheWallStreetJournal.[62]Thecompanyhasbeendubbedthe"Netflixfore
books"[28]byWired,andisaknownpioneerofthe"allyoucanread"modelforebooks.[63]Its
founders,TripAdlerandJaredFriedman,havebeennamedtoForbes30Under30andInc.35Under
35.[64][65]
InApril2015,LosAngelesfavorablyreviewedScribdssubscriptionservicebysaying,Subscribingto
ScribdissortoflikeshoppingatTraderJoes:youmaynotfindeveryproductyouwant,butitsureas
hellisconvenient,inexpensive,anddownrightdelectable.[66]Scribdhasgrowntomorethan100
millionusersin75countrieswhousethesiteonamonthlybasis.[67]AsofJune2015,theScribdapphas
beendownloaded5.7milliontimesonAndroidand3.3milliontimesoniOS.[68]
NotableusersofScribdincludeVirginiasenatorMarkWarner,[69]formerCaliforniagubernatorial
candidateMegWhitman,NewYorkTimesDealBookreporterAndrewRossSorkin,AllThingsD
ReporterKaraSwisher,theU.S.FederalCommunicationsCommission(FCC),RedCross,UNICEF,
WorldEconomicForum,UnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforEurope,TheWorldBank,Ford
MotorCompany,HewlettPackard,SamsungandtheHasmoneanHighSchoolLivingTorah.

Accusationsofcopyrightinfringement
Scribdhasbeenaccusedofcopyrightinfringement.InSeptember2009,AmericanauthorElaineScott
allegedthatScribd"shamelesslyprofitsfromthestolencopyrightedworksofinnumerableauthors".[70]
HerattorneyssoughtclassactionstatusintheireffortstowindamagesfromScribdforallegedly
"egregiouscopyrightinfringement"andaccuseditofcalculatedcopyrightinfringementfor
profit.[71][72][73]ThesuitwasdroppedinJuly2010.[74][75]
In2007,oneyearafteritsinception,Scribdwasservedwith25DigitalMillenniumCopyrightAct
(DMCA)takedownnotices.[76]

Controversies
InMarch2009,thepasswordsofseveralComcastcustomerswereleakedonScribd.Thepasswords
werelaterremovedwhenthenewswaspublishedbyTheNewYorkTimes.[77][78][79]
InJuly2010,GigaOMreportedthatthescriptofTheSocialNetwork(2010)moviewasuploadedand
leakedonScribditwaspromptlytakendownperSonysDMCArequest.[80]
FollowingadecisionoftheIstanbul12thCriminalCourtofPeace,dated8March2013,accesstoScribd
isblockedforInternetusersinTurkey.[81]

BookID
Tocounteracttheuploadingofunauthorizedcontent,ScribdcreatedBookID,anautomatedcopyright
protectionsystemthathelpsauthorsandpublishersidentifyunauthorizeduseoftheirworksonScribd.
[82]Thisproprietarytechnologyworksbyanalyzingdocumentsforsemanticdata,metadata,images,
andotherelementsandcreatesanencodedfingerprintofthecopyrightedwork.[83]BookIDis
availableforfreeforauthorsandpublisherswhethertheychoosetomaketheircontentavailablethrough
theScribdplatform.[84]

Supportedfileformats
Supportedformatsinclude:[85]
MicrosoftExcel(.xls,.xlsx)
MicrosoftPowerPoint(.ppt,.pps,.pptx,.ppsx)
MicrosoftWord(.doc,.docx)
OpenDocument(.odt,.odp,.ods,.odf,.odg)
OpenOffice.orgXML(.sxw,.sxi,.sxc,.sxd)
Plaintext(.txt)
PortableDocumentFormat(.pdf)
PostScript(.ps)
Richtextformat(.rtf)
Taggedimagefileformat(.tif,.tiff)

Seealso
AmazonLendingLibraryandKindleUnlimited
Documentcollaboration
Oyster(company)
WaybackMachine
Webcite

References
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Externallinks
Officialwebsite(http://www.scribd.com/)

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