Jump to content

Scribd: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
GreenC bot (talk | contribs)
Rescued 1 archive link. Wayback Medic 2.5
Camiss13 (talk | contribs)
Corrected Scribd definition: Scribd is a digital document library and not a digital content subscription service providing access to a large collection of ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines.
(48 intermediate revisions by 40 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|E-book subscription service and document publishing platform}}
{{short description|E-book subscription service and document publishing platform}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}

{{Infobox dot-com company
{{Infobox dot-com company
| name = Scribd, Inc.
| name = Scribd, Inc.
| logo = Scribd logo (new).svg
| logo = Scribd logo (2).svg
| location = San Francisco, California, US
| location = San Francisco, California, U.S.
| services = Social reading and publishing platform
| services = Social reading and publishing platform
| subsid = [[SlideShare]]
| subsid = [[SlideShare]]<br /> Everand
| url = {{URL|https://www.scribd.com/}}
| url = {{URL|https://www.scribd.com/}}
| language = [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| language = [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]], [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| company_type = [[Private company|Private]]
| company_type = [[Private company|Private]]
| foundation = {{start date and age|2007|03}}
| foundation = {{start date and age|2007|03}}
| founder = [[Trip Adler]] <br /> [[Jared Friedman]] <br /> [[Tikhon Bernstam]]
| founder = [[Trip Adler]] <br /> [[Jared Friedman]] <br /> [[Tikhon Bernstam]]
| CEO = Tony Grimminck
| key_people = [[Trip Adler]]<br />([[co-founder]] and [[CEO]])<br />[[Jared Friedman]]<br />(co-founder and [[Chief technical officer|CTO]])<br />[[Tikhon Bernstam]]<br />(co-founder and [[Chief operating officer|COO]])
| current_status = Active
}}
}}


'''Scribd Inc.''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|r|ɪ|b|d}}) operates three primary platforms: '''Scribd''', '''Everand''', and '''[[SlideShare]]'''. Scribd is a digital document library that hosts over 195 million documents. Everand is a digital content subscription service offering a wide selection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, podcasts, and sheet music. SlideShare is an online platform featuring over 15 million presentations from subject matter experts.<ref name="metz2013">{{cite magazine |last=Metz |first=Cade |date=October 1, 2013 |title=Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With 'Netflix for Books' |url=https://www.wired.com/2013/10/scribd_book_subscription/ |access-date=September 3, 2017 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref><ref name="lifehacker1">{{cite news |last=Orin |first=Andy |date=June 11, 2014 |title=Behind the App: The Story of Scribd |url=http://lifehacker.com/behind-the-app-the-story-of-scribd-1589303246 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029112956/https://lifehacker.com/behind-the-app-the-story-of-scribd-1589303246 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2015 |publisher=Lifehacker}}</ref><ref name="schnuer2013">{{cite magazine |last=Schnuer |first=Jenna |date=November 8, 2013 |title=We Test It: Scribd's All-You-Can Read Digital Buffet |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229666 |access-date=September 3, 2017 |magazine=[[Entrepreneur (magazine)|Entrepreneur]]}}</ref>
'''Scribd Inc.''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|r|ɪ|b|d}} is an American [[e-book]] and [[audiobook]] subscription service that includes one million titles.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/media/scribd-expands-audiobook-catalog-in-deal-with-penguin-random-house.html?_r=0 |title=Scribd Expands Audiobook Catalog in Deal With Penguin Random House|first=Alexandra |last=Alter |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2015/01/05/the-daily-startup-depict-raises-cash-as-digital-art-world-gains-momentum/ |title=The Daily Startup |first=Zoran |last=Basich |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=January 5, 2015 |url-access= subscription}}</ref><ref name="mac2014"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/4/16/8423329/scribd-audiobooks-penguin-random-house |title=Scribd adds over 9,000 more audiobooks to better take on Audible |first=Jacob |last=Kastrenakes |website=The Verge |date=April 16, 2015 }}</ref> Scribd hosts 60 million documents on its open publishing platform.<ref name="Cleverism1">{{cite news |url=http://www.cleverism.com/scribd-interview-co-founder-ceo-trip-adler/ |title=Scribd &#124; Interview with its Co-Founder & CEO – Trip Adler |publisher=Cleverism |date=December 10, 2014}}</ref>


The company was founded in 2007 by [[Trip Adler]], [[Jared Friedman]], and [[Tikhon Bernstam]], and headquartered in [[San Francisco]], California. Tony Grimminck took over as CEO in 2024.
Founded in 2007 by [[Trip Adler]], [[Jared Friedman]], and [[Tikhon Bernstam]], and headquartered in [[San Francisco]], California, the company is backed by [[Khosla Ventures]], [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]], [[Charles River Ventures]], and [[Redpoint Ventures]].<ref name="crunchbase">{{cite web | url = https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/scribd#/entity | title= Scribd | website = CrunchBase | publisher = [[TechCrunch]] | publication-date = August 6, 2017<!-- See the contributors section for verification. --> | access-date = September 3, 2017 }}</ref> Scribd's e-book subscription service is available on [[Android (operating system)|Android]] and [[iOS]] smartphones and tablets, as well as the [[Kindle Fire]], [[Nook]], and personal computers. Subscribers can access unlimited books a month<ref>{{cite web|title=Scribd - Read books, audiobooks, and more|url=https://www.scribd.com|website=Scribd|access-date=February 1, 2017}}</ref> from 1,000 publishers, including [[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury]], [[Harlequin Enterprises|Harlequin]], [[HarperCollins]], [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]], [[Lonely Planet]], [[Macmillan Publishers|Macmillan]], [[Perseus Book Group]], [[Simon & Schuster]], [[John Wiley & Sons|Wiley]], and [[Workman Publishing Company|Workman]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/scribd-extends-e-book-subscription-app-to-kindle-fire/ |title=Scribd extends e-book subscription app to Kindle Fire |first=David |last=Carnoy |publisher=CNet |date=January 29, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-scribd-brings-in-22-million-ebook-subscriptions-20150105-story.html |title=Scribd brings in $22 million to expand e-book subscription service |first=Carolyn |last=Kellogg |newspaper=LA Times |date=January 5, 2015 }}</ref>

Scribd has 80 million users, and has been referred to as "the [[Netflix]] for books".<ref name="metz2013">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/2013/10/scribd_book_subscription/ | title = Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With 'Netflix for Books' | first = Cade | last = Metz | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | date = October 1, 2013 | access-date = September 3, 2017 }}</ref><ref name="lifehacker1">{{cite news |url=http://lifehacker.com/behind-the-app-the-story-of-scribd-1589303246 |title=Behind the App: The Story of Scribd |first=Andy |last=Orin |publisher=Lifehacker |date=June 11, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="schnuer2013">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/229666 | title = We Test It: Scribd's All-You-Can Read Digital Buffet | first = Jenna | last = Schnuer | magazine = [[Entrepreneur (magazine)|Entrepreneur]] | date = November 8, 2013 | access-date = September 3, 2017 }}</ref>


==History==
==History==
[[File:Scribd logo.svg|thumb|Previous logo]]
[[File:Scribd logo.svg|thumb|Previous logo]]

===Founding (2007–2013)===
===Founding (2007–2013)===
Scribd began as a site to host and share documents.<ref name="lifehacker1"/> While at [[Harvard]], [[Trip Adler]] was inspired to start Scribd after learning about the lengthy process required to publish academic papers.<ref name="krasny">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.inc.com/jill-krasny/35-under-35-scribd-is-the-library-of-the-future.html |title=Scribd: The Library of the Future? |first=Jill |last=Krasny |magazine=Inc. |date=June 24, 2014 }}</ref> His father, a doctor at Stanford, was told it would take 18 months to have his medical research published.<ref name="krasny"/> Adler wanted to create a simple way to publish and share written content online.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/ss/10/04/0419_best_young_tech_entrepreneurs/2.htm |title=Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2010 |publisher=Bloomberg }}</ref> He co-founded Scribd with [[Jared Friedman]] and attended the inaugural class of [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]] in the summer of 2006.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://y-combinator.silk.co/page/Scribd |title=Scribd |publisher=Y Combinator }}</ref> There, Scribd received its initial $120,000 in seed funding and then launched in a San Francisco apartment in March 2007.<ref name="Cleverism1"/>
Scribd began as a site to host and share documents.<ref name="lifehacker1"/> While at [[Harvard]], [[Trip Adler]] was inspired to start Scribd after learning about the lengthy process required to publish academic papers.<ref name="krasny">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.inc.com/jill-krasny/35-under-35-scribd-is-the-library-of-the-future.html |title=Scribd: The Library of the Future? |first=Jill |last=Krasny |magazine=Inc. |date=June 24, 2014 }}</ref> His father, a doctor at Stanford, was told it would take 18 months to have his medical research published.<ref name="krasny"/> Adler wanted to create a simple way to publish and share written content online.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/ss/10/04/0419_best_young_tech_entrepreneurs/2.htm |title=Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2010 |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=March 11, 2017 |archive-date=March 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306230421/http://www.bloomberg.com/ss/10/04/0419_best_young_tech_entrepreneurs/2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> He co-founded Scribd with [[Jared Friedman]] and attended the inaugural class of [[Y Combinator (company)|Y Combinator]] in the summer of 2006.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://y-combinator.silk.co/page/Scribd |title=Scribd |publisher=Y Combinator |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807075309/http://y-combinator.silk.co/page/Scribd |url-status=live }}</ref> There, Scribd received its initial $120,000 in seed funding and then launched in a San Francisco apartment in March 2007.<ref name="Cleverism1">{{cite news |date=December 10, 2014 |title=Scribd &#124; Interview with its Co-Founder & CEO – Trip Adler |url=http://www.cleverism.com/scribd-interview-co-founder-ceo-trip-adler/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627082420/https://www.cleverism.com/scribd-interview-co-founder-ceo-trip-adler/ |archive-date=June 27, 2019 |access-date=December 27, 2015 |publisher=Cleverism}}</ref>


Scribd was called "the [[YouTube]] for documents", allowing anyone to self-publish on the site using its document reader.<ref name="krasny"/> The document reader turns [[PDF]]s, [[Microsoft Word|Word]] documents, and [[PowerPoint]]s into Web documents that can be shared on any website that allows embeds.<ref name="macmillan2009">{{cite news |url = http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/10/07/from-the-desk-of-your-news-outlet-and-scribd/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091010034707/http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/10/07/from-the-desk-of-your-news-outlet-and-scribd/ |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 10, 2009 |title = From the desk of [your news outlet] and Scribd |first = Robert |last = MacMillan |work = [[Reuters]] |date = October 7, 2009 |access-date = September 3, 2017 }}</ref> In its first year, Scribd grew rapidly to 23.5 million visitors as of November 2008.<ref name="schonfeld2008">{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/12/31/scribd-had-a-blowout-year-and-so-did-the-web-document/ |title=Scribd Had A Blowout Year, And So Did the Web Document |first=Erick |last=Schonfeld |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=December 31, 2008 |access-date=September 3, 2017 }}</ref> It also ranked as one of the top 20 social media sites according to Comscore.<ref name="schonfeld2008"/>
Scribd was called "the [[YouTube]] for documents", allowing anyone to self-publish on the site using its document reader.<ref name="krasny"/> The document reader turns [[PDF]]s, [[Microsoft Word|Word]] documents, and [[PowerPoint]]s into Web documents that can be shared on any website that allows embeds.<ref name="macmillan2009">{{cite news |url = http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/10/07/from-the-desk-of-your-news-outlet-and-scribd/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091010034707/http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile/2009/10/07/from-the-desk-of-your-news-outlet-and-scribd/ |url-status = dead |archive-date = October 10, 2009 |title = From the desk of [your news outlet] and Scribd |first = Robert |last = MacMillan |work = [[Reuters]] |date = October 7, 2009 |access-date = September 3, 2017 }}</ref> In its first year, Scribd grew rapidly to 23.5 million visitors as of November 2008.<ref name="schonfeld2008">{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2008/12/31/scribd-had-a-blowout-year-and-so-did-the-web-document/ |title=Scribd Had A Blowout Year, And So Did the Web Document |first=Erick |last=Schonfeld |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=December 31, 2008 |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807034553/https://techcrunch.com/2008/12/31/scribd-had-a-blowout-year-and-so-did-the-web-document/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It also ranked as one of the top 20 social media sites according to Comscore.<ref name="schonfeld2008"/>


In June 2009, Scribd launched the Scribd Store, enabling writers to easily upload and sell digital copies of their work online.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/technology/start-ups/18download.html |title=Site Lets Writers Sell Digital Copies |first=Brad |last=Stone |date=May 17, 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=October 11, 2010 }}</ref> That same month, the site partnered with [[Simon & Schuster]] to sell e-books on Scribd.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/technology/internet/12books.html |title=Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com |first=Brad |last=Stone |date=July 11, 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 11, 2010}}</ref> The deal made digital editions of 5,000 titles available for purchase on Scribd, including books from bestselling authors like [[Stephen King]], [[Dan Brown]], and [[Mary Higgins Clark]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DEEDC123FF931A25755C0A96F9C8B63 |title=Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com |first=Brad |last=Stone |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 12, 2009 }}</ref>
In June 2009, Scribd launched the Scribd Store, enabling writers to easily upload and sell digital copies of their work online.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/technology/start-ups/18download.html |title=Site Lets Writers Sell Digital Copies |first=Brad |last=Stone |date=May 17, 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 11, 2010 |archive-date=September 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907200435/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/technology/start-ups/18download.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> That same month, the site partnered with [[Simon & Schuster]] to sell e-books on Scribd.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/technology/internet/12books.html |title=Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com |first=Brad |last=Stone |date=July 11, 2009 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=October 11, 2010 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043228/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/technology/internet/12books.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The deal made digital editions of 5,000 titles available for purchase on Scribd, including books from bestselling authors like [[Stephen King]], [[Dan Brown]], and [[Mary Higgins Clark]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DEEDC123FF931A25755C0A96F9C8B63 |title=Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com |first=Brad |last=Stone |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 12, 2009 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=September 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930155607/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/12/technology/internet/12books.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


In October 2009, Scribd launched its branded reader for media companies including ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', ''[[The Huffington Post]]'', [[TechCrunch]], and [[MediaBistro]].<ref name="macmillan2009"/> [[ProQuest]] began publishing dissertations and theses on Scribd in December 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/scribd-to-publish-dissertations-and-theses/ |title=Scribd to publish dissertations and theses |publisher=TeleRead |date=November 17, 2009 }}</ref> In August 2010, many notable documents hosted on Scribd began to go viral, including the California [[Proposition 8]] ruling, which received over 100,000 views in about 24 minutes, and [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]]'s lawsuit against [[Mark Hurd]]'s move to [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://gigaom.com/2010/08/04/prop-8-ruling-is-scribds-most-viral-doc-ever/ |title=Prop 8 Ruling Is Scribd's Most Viral Doc Ever |first=Liz |last=Gannes |publisher=Gigaom |date=August 4, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/07/mark-hurd-oracle-hp/ |title=HP Confirms It Is Suing Mark Hurd For Potential Leakage Of Trade Secrets To Oracle |first=M.G. |last=Siegler |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=September 7, 2010 }}</ref>
In October 2009, Scribd launched its branded reader for media companies including ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', ''[[The Huffington Post]]'', [[TechCrunch]], and [[MediaBistro]].<ref name="macmillan2009"/> [[ProQuest]] began publishing dissertations and theses on Scribd in December 2009.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/scribd-to-publish-dissertations-and-theses/ |title=Scribd to publish dissertations and theses |publisher=TeleRead |date=November 17, 2009 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714140347/http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/scribd-to-publish-dissertations-and-theses/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 2010, many notable documents hosted on Scribd began to go viral, including the California [[Proposition 8]] ruling, which received over 100,000 views in about 24 minutes, and [[Hewlett-Packard|HP]]'s lawsuit against [[Mark Hurd]]'s move to [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://gigaom.com/2010/08/04/prop-8-ruling-is-scribds-most-viral-doc-ever/ |title=Prop 8 Ruling Is Scribd's Most Viral Doc Ever |first=Liz |last=Gannes |publisher=Gigaom |date=August 4, 2010 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=September 28, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928152607/https://gigaom.com/2010/08/04/prop-8-ruling-is-scribds-most-viral-doc-ever/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/07/mark-hurd-oracle-hp/ |title=HP Confirms It Is Suing Mark Hurd For Potential Leakage Of Trade Secrets To Oracle |first=M.G. |last=Siegler |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=September 7, 2010 |access-date=June 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808192048/https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/07/mark-hurd-oracle-hp/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


===Subscription service (2013–present)===
===Subscription service (2013–2023)===
[[File:Scribd Books.jpg|thumb|Screenshots of Scribd's subscription service]]
[[File:Scribd Books.jpg|thumb|Screenshots of Scribd's subscription service]]


In October 2013, Scribd officially launched its unlimited subscription service for [[e-books]]. This gave users unlimited access to Scribd's library of digital books for a flat monthly fee.<ref name="metz2013"/> The company also announced a partnership with HarperCollins which made the entire backlist of HarperCollins' catalog available on the subscription service.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/business/media/harpercollins-pursues-e-book-subscription-service-with-scribd.html?_r=4& |title=HarperCollins Joins Scribd in E-Book Subscription Plan |first=Julie |last=Bosman |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 1, 2013 }}</ref>
In October 2013, Scribd officially launched its unlimited subscription service for [[e-books]]. This gave users unlimited access to Scribd's library of digital books for a flat monthly fee.<ref name="metz2013"/> The company also announced a partnership with HarperCollins which made the entire backlist of HarperCollins' catalog available on the subscription service.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/business/media/harpercollins-pursues-e-book-subscription-service-with-scribd.html?_r=4& |title=HarperCollins Joins Scribd in E-Book Subscription Plan |first=Julie |last=Bosman |newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 1, 2013 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=July 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726041147/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/business/media/harpercollins-pursues-e-book-subscription-service-with-scribd.html?_r=4 |url-status=live }}</ref>
According to Chantal Restivo-Alessi, chief digital officer at [[HarperCollins]], this marked the first time that the publisher has released such a large portion of its catalog.<ref>{{cite web|title=With HarperCollins Deal, Scribd Unveils Its Bid To Become The Netflix For Books|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/01/scribd-harpercollins-book-subscriptions/?ncid=tcdaily|work=[[TechCrunch]]|publisher=AOL Inc|access-date=October 1, 2013|first=Anthony |last=Ha|date=October 1, 2013}}</ref>
According to Chantal Restivo-Alessi, chief digital officer at [[HarperCollins]], this marked the first time that the publisher has released such a large portion of its catalog.<ref>{{cite web|title=With HarperCollins Deal, Scribd Unveils Its Bid To Become The Netflix For Books|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/01/scribd-harpercollins-book-subscriptions/?ncid=tcdaily|work=[[TechCrunch]]|publisher=AOL Inc|access-date=October 1, 2013|first=Anthony|last=Ha|date=October 1, 2013|archive-date=August 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801115419/https://techcrunch.com/2013/10/01/scribd-harpercollins-book-subscriptions/?ncid=tcdaily|url-status=live}}</ref>
In March 2014, Scribd announced a deal with [[Lonely Planet]], offering the travel publisher's entire library on its subscription service.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/26/scribd-lonely-planet/ |title=Scribd's Subscription E-Book Service Moves Into Travel With The Full Lonely Planet Library |first=Anthony |last=Ha |publisher=[[Techcrunch]] |date=March 26, 2014 }}</ref>
In March 2014, Scribd announced a deal with [[Lonely Planet]], offering the travel publisher's entire library on its subscription service.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/26/scribd-lonely-planet/ |title=Scribd's Subscription E-Book Service Moves Into Travel With The Full Lonely Planet Library |first=Anthony |last=Ha |publisher=[[Techcrunch]] |date=March 26, 2014 |access-date=June 25, 2017 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130073636/https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/26/scribd-lonely-planet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


In May 2014, Scribd further increased its subscription offering with 10,000 titles from [[Simon & Schuster]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/simon-schuster-e-book-services-strike-deal-1400639243 |title=Simon & Schuster, E-Book Services Strike Deal |first=Jeffrey A. |last=Trachtenberg |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=March 21, 2014 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> These titles included works from authors such as: [[Ray Bradbury]], [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Walter Isaacson]], [[Stephen King]], [[Chuck Klosterman]], and [[David McCullough]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://gigaom.com/2014/05/21/simon-schuster-titles-are-now-available-on-ebook-subscription-sites-scribd-and-oyster/ |title=Simon & Schuster adds its books to ebook subscription sites Scribd and Oyster |first=Laura Hazard |last=Owen |publisher=Gigaom |date=May 21, 2014 }}</ref>
In May 2014, Scribd further increased its subscription offering with 10,000 titles from [[Simon & Schuster]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/simon-schuster-e-book-services-strike-deal-1400639243 |title=Simon & Schuster, E-Book Services Strike Deal |first=Jeffrey A. |last=Trachtenberg |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=March 21, 2014 |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806232110/https://www.wsj.com/articles/simon-schuster-e-book-services-strike-deal-1400639243 |url-status=live }}</ref> These titles included works from authors such as: [[Ray Bradbury]], [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]], [[Ernest Hemingway]], [[Walter Isaacson]], [[Stephen King]], [[Chuck Klosterman]], and [[David McCullough]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://gigaom.com/2014/05/21/simon-schuster-titles-are-now-available-on-ebook-subscription-sites-scribd-and-oyster/ |title=Simon & Schuster adds its books to ebook subscription sites Scribd and Oyster |first=Laura Hazard |last=Owen |publisher=Gigaom |date=May 21, 2014 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807075732/https://gigaom.com/2014/05/21/simon-schuster-titles-are-now-available-on-ebook-subscription-sites-scribd-and-oyster/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Scribd has been criticized for advertising a free 14 day trial for which payment is required before readers can trial the products. Readers discover this when they attempt to download material.


Scribd added audiobooks to its subscription service in November 2014 and comic books in February 2015.<ref name="mac2014">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/11/06/scribd-audiobooks-library-amazon-pressure/ |title=Scribd Adds Audiobooks To All-You-Read Library, Piling Pressure On Amazon |first=Ryan |last=Mac |magazine=Forbes |date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="ha2015">{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/10/scribd-adds-marvel-comics/ |title=Scribd Adds Comics From Marvel, IDW, And Others To Its Subscription E-Book Service |first=Anthony |last=Ha |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=February 10, 2015 }}</ref>
Scribd added audiobooks to its subscription service in November 2014 and comic books in February 2015.<ref name="mac2014">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/11/06/scribd-audiobooks-library-amazon-pressure/ |title=Scribd Adds Audiobooks To All-You-Read Library, Piling Pressure On Amazon |first=Ryan |last=Mac |magazine=Forbes |date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="ha2015">{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/10/scribd-adds-marvel-comics/ |title=Scribd Adds Comics From Marvel, IDW, And Others To Its Subscription E-Book Service |first=Anthony |last=Ha |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=February 10, 2015 |access-date=June 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806233923/https://techcrunch.com/2015/02/10/scribd-adds-marvel-comics/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


In February 2016, it was announced that only titles from a rotating selection of the library would be available for unlimited reading, and subscribers would have credits to read three books and one audiobook per month from the entire library with unused credits rolling over to the next month.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teleread.com/scribd-will-change-subscription-service-unlimited-semi-unlimited/ |title=Scribd will change its subscription service from unlimited to semi-unlimited|website=TeleRead|access-date=February 16, 2016}}</ref>
In February 2016, it was announced that only titles from a rotating selection of the library would be available for unlimited reading, and subscribers would have credits to read three books and one audiobook per month from the entire library with unused credits rolling over to the next month.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teleread.com/scribd-will-change-subscription-service-unlimited-semi-unlimited/|title=Scribd will change its subscription service from unlimited to semi-unlimited|website=TeleRead|date=February 16, 2016|access-date=February 16, 2016|archive-date=July 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703132740/http://www.teleread.com/scribd-will-change-subscription-service-unlimited-semi-unlimited/|url-status=live}}</ref>


The reporting system was discontinued on February 6, 2018, in favor of a system of "constantly rotating catalogs of ebooks and audiobooks" that provided "an unlimited number of books and audiobooks, alongside unlimited access to news, magazines, documents, and sheet music"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000157466-When-did-I-get-unlimited-reading-|title=When did I get unlimited reading?|website=Scribd Help Center|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-30}}</ref> for a monthly subscription fee of US$8.99.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210134106-Scribd-s-Membership#What-are-the-benefits|title=Scribd's Membership|website=Scribd Help Center|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-30}}</ref> However, under this unlimited service, Scribd would occasionally "limit the titles that you’re able to access within a specific content library in a 30-day period."<ref>{{Cite web|title=How many books can I read each month?|url=https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210135706-How-many-books-can-I-read-each-month-|last=O.|first=Katy|date=2018-08-28|website=Scribd Help Center|language=en-US|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830014147/https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210135706-How-many-books-can-I-read-each-month-|archive-date=2018-08-30}}</ref>
The reporting system was discontinued on February 6, 2018, in favor of a system of "constantly rotating catalogs of ebooks and audiobooks" that provided "an unlimited number of books and audiobooks, alongside unlimited access to news, magazines, documents, and sheet music"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000157466-When-did-I-get-unlimited-reading-|title=When did I get unlimited reading?|website=Scribd Help Center|language=en-US|access-date=August 30, 2018|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806223639/https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000157466-When-did-I-get-unlimited-reading-|url-status=dead}}</ref> for a monthly subscription fee of US$8.99.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210134106-Scribd-s-Membership#What-are-the-benefits|title=Scribd's Membership|website=Scribd Help Center|language=en-US|access-date=August 30, 2018|archive-date=November 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111222418/https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210134106-Scribd-s-Membership#What-are-the-benefits|url-status=live}}</ref> However, under this unlimited service, Scribd would occasionally "limit the titles that you’re able to access within a specific content library in a 30-day period."<ref>{{Cite web|title=How many books can I read each month?|url=https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210135706-How-many-books-can-I-read-each-month-|last=O.|first=Katy|date=August 28, 2018|website=Scribd Help Center|language=en-US|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830014147/https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210135706-How-many-books-can-I-read-each-month-|archive-date=August 30, 2018}}</ref>


In October 2018, Scribd announced a joint subscription to Scribd and The New York Times for $12.99 per month.
In October 2018, Scribd announced a joint subscription to Scribd and The New York Times for $12.99 per month.


===Audiobooks===
===Audiobooks===
In November 2014, Scribd added [[audiobook]]s to its subscription library.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/6/7164543/scribd-adds-audiobooks-to-ebook-subscription-service |title=Scribd expands its subscription library to include audiobooks |first=Jacob |last=Kastrenakes |website=The Verge |date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] noted that this was the first subscription service to offer unlimited access to audiobooks, and "it represents a much larger shift in the way digital content is consumed over the net."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/11/scribd-rolls-internets-first-can-listen-audiobooks-service/ |title=Scribd Rolls Out the Internet's First All-You-Can-Listen Audiobooks Service |first=Cade |last=Metz |magazine=Wired |date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> In April 2015, the company expanded its audiobook catalog in a deal with [[Penguin Random House]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thenextweb.com/media/2015/04/16/scribd-adds-9000-penguin-random-house-audiobooks-including-game-of-thrones/ |title=Scribd adds 9,000 Penguin Random House audiobooks including 'Game of Thrones' |first=Mic |last=Wright |publisher=The Next Web |date=April 16, 2015 }}</ref> This added 9,000 audiobooks to its platform including titles from authors like [[Lena Dunham]], [[John Grisham]], [[Gillian Flynn]], and [[George R.R. Martin]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/media/scribd-expands-audiobook-catalog-in-deal-with-penguin-random-house.html?_r=0 |title=Scribd Expands Audiobook Catalog in Deal With Penguin Random House |first=Alexandra |last=Alter |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 2015 }}</ref>
In November 2014, Scribd added [[audiobook]]s to its subscription library.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/6/7164543/scribd-adds-audiobooks-to-ebook-subscription-service |title=Scribd expands its subscription library to include audiobooks |first=Jacob |last=Kastrenakes |website=The Verge |date=November 6, 2014 |access-date=September 11, 2017 |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111225726/http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/6/7164543/scribd-adds-audiobooks-to-ebook-subscription-service |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] noted that this was the first subscription service to offer unlimited access to audiobooks, and "it represents a much larger shift in the way digital content is consumed over the net."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/11/scribd-rolls-internets-first-can-listen-audiobooks-service/ |title=Scribd Rolls Out the Internet's First All-You-Can-Listen Audiobooks Service |first=Cade |last=Metz |magazine=Wired |date=November 6, 2014 }}</ref> In April 2015, the company expanded its audiobook catalog in a deal with [[Penguin Random House]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thenextweb.com/media/2015/04/16/scribd-adds-9000-penguin-random-house-audiobooks-including-game-of-thrones/ |title=Scribd adds 9,000 Penguin Random House audiobooks including 'Game of Thrones' |first=Mic |last=Wright |publisher=The Next Web |date=April 16, 2015 |access-date=June 18, 2018 |archive-date=August 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806223421/https://thenextweb.com/media/2015/04/16/scribd-adds-9000-penguin-random-house-audiobooks-including-game-of-thrones/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This added 9,000 audiobooks to its platform including titles from authors like [[Lena Dunham]], [[John Grisham]], [[Gillian Flynn]], and [[George R.R. Martin]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/media/scribd-expands-audiobook-catalog-in-deal-with-penguin-random-house.html?_r=0 |title=Scribd Expands Audiobook Catalog in Deal With Penguin Random House |first=Alexandra |last=Alter |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 16, 2015 |access-date=February 18, 2017 |archive-date=August 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821064627/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/17/business/media/scribd-expands-audiobook-catalog-in-deal-with-penguin-random-house.html?_r=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>


===Comics===
===Comics===
In February 2015, Scribd introduced [[comic book|comics]] to its subscription service.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/02/scribd-comic-books/ |title=Scribd Unveils 'Netflix for Comics' |first=Davey |last=Alba |magazine=Wired |date=February 10, 2015 }}</ref> The company added 10,000 [[comics]] and [[graphic novels]] from publishers including [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]], [[Archie Andrews|Archie]], [[Boom! Studios]], [[Dynamite]], [[IDW Publishing|IDW]], and [[Valiant Comics|Valiant]].<ref name="ha2015"/> These included series such as ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (2008 team)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]'', ''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'', ''[[X-O Manowar]]'', and ''[[Avengers (comics)|The Avengers]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mashable.com/2015/02/10/scribd-comics-subscription/ |title=Scribd gains the superpower of an unlimited comic book subscription |first=Seth |last=Fiegerman |publisher=Mashable |date=February 10, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/scribd-adds-comics-9-per-month/ |title=Scribd serves up all the comics you can read, for $9 per month |first=Sarah |last=Mitroff |publisher=CNet |date=February 10, 2015 }}</ref> However, in December 2016, comics were eliminated from the service due to low demand.
In February 2015, Scribd introduced [[comic book|comics]] to its subscription service.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/02/scribd-comic-books/ |title=Scribd Unveils 'Netflix for Comics' |first=Davey |last=Alba |author-link=Davey Alba|magazine=Wired |date=February 10, 2015 }}</ref> The company added 10,000 [[comics]] and [[graphic novels]] from publishers including [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]], [[Archie Andrews|Archie]], [[Boom! Studios]], [[Dynamite Entertainment|Dynamite]], [[IDW Publishing|IDW]], and [[Valiant Comics|Valiant]].<ref name="ha2015"/> These included series such as ''[[Guardians of the Galaxy (2008 team)|Guardians of the Galaxy]]'', ''[[Daredevil (Marvel Comics series)|Daredevil]]'', ''[[X-O Manowar]]'', and ''[[Avengers (comics)|The Avengers]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://mashable.com/2015/02/10/scribd-comics-subscription/ |title=Scribd gains the superpower of an unlimited comic book subscription |first=Seth |last=Fiegerman |publisher=Mashable |date=February 10, 2015 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=November 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129131925/https://mashable.com/2015/02/10/scribd-comics-subscription/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnet.com/news/scribd-adds-comics-9-per-month/ |title=Scribd serves up all the comics you can read, for $9 per month |first=Sarah |last=Mitroff |publisher=CNet |date=February 10, 2015 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714133744/http://www.cnet.com/news/scribd-adds-comics-9-per-month/ |url-status=live }}</ref> However, in December 2016, comics were eliminated from the service due to low demand.

=== Unbundling (2023 - present) ===
In November 2023, Scribd unbundled from one single product into three distinct ones: '''Everand''', '''Scribd''', and '''Slideshare'''. Everand was launched as a new subscription-based service, focused solely on a customer looking for entertainment in the form of books, magazines, podcasts and more.


==Timeline==
==Timeline==
In February 2010, Scribd unveiled its first mobile plans for e-readers and [[smartphone]]s.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704140104575057501723639926 | title = Scribd Plans Mobile Application | newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | access-date = February 10, 2010 | first=Geoffrey A. | last=Fowler | date= February 10, 2010 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In April 2010 Scribd launched a new feature called "Readcast",<ref>{{cite web| url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20003081-248.html?tag=mncol | title = Scribd gets 'Readcasting': Autosharing made easy | publisher = [[CNet]] | access-date = April 21, 2010}}</ref> which allows automatic sharing of documents on [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Scribd-Launches-Readcast-Integrates-With-Facebook-Social-Plugins-Make-Reading-More-Social-1151594.htm | title = Scribd launches readcast | publisher = [[Marketwire]] | access-date = April 15, 2010}}</ref> Also in April 2010, Scribd announced its integration of Facebook social [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-in]]s at the [[Facebook f8]] Developer Conference.<ref>{{cite news| url = http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/21/scribds-bet-on-the-facebook-effect/ | title = Scribd's bet on the Facebook Effect | publisher = CNN | access-date = April 21, 2010 | date= April 21, 2010}}</ref>
In February 2010, Scribd unveiled its first mobile plans for e-readers and [[smartphone]]s.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704140104575057501723639926 | title = Scribd Plans Mobile Application | newspaper = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | access-date = February 10, 2010 | first = Geoffrey A. | last = Fowler | date = February 10, 2010 | url-access = subscription | archive-date = October 29, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201029174105/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704140104575057501723639926 | url-status = live }}</ref> In April 2010 Scribd launched a new feature called "Readcast",<ref>{{cite web| url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20003081-248.html?tag=mncol | title = Scribd gets 'Readcasting': Autosharing made easy | publisher = [[CNet]] | access-date = April 21, 2010}}</ref> which allows automatic sharing of documents on [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Scribd-Launches-Readcast-Integrates-With-Facebook-Social-Plugins-Make-Reading-More-Social-1151594.htm | title = Scribd launches readcast | publisher = [[Marketwire]] | access-date = April 15, 2010 | archive-date = June 15, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110615224341/http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Scribd-Launches-Readcast-Integrates-With-Facebook-Social-Plugins-Make-Reading-More-Social-1151594.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> Also in April 2010, Scribd announced its integration of Facebook social [[Plug-in (computing)|plug-in]]s at the [[Facebook f8]] Developer Conference.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/21/scribds-bet-on-the-facebook-effect/ | title = Scribd's bet on the Facebook Effect | publisher = CNN | access-date = April 21, 2010 | date = April 21, 2010 | archive-date = August 7, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200807083326/http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/04/21/scribds-bet-on-the-facebook-effect/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

Scribd rolled out a redesign on September 13, 2010, to become, according to TechCrunch, "the social network for reading".<ref>{{cite news | url = https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/scribd-redesign/ | title = Scribd Redesign Is An Attempt To Become A "Social Network For Reading" | work = [[TechCrunch]] | access-date = September 13, 2010 | archive-date = August 7, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200807020318/https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/scribd-redesign/ | url-status = live }}</ref>


In October 2013, Scribd launched its e-book subscription service, allowing readers to pay a flat monthly fee in exchange for unlimited access to all of Scribd's book titles.<ref>{{cite web |last=Carr |first=Austin |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3018856/scribd-harpercollins-launch-899-subscription-book-service |title=Scribd, HarperCollins Launch $8.99 Subscription Book Service |work=Fast Company |date=October 1, 2013 |access-date=December 30, 2013 |archive-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031020300/https://www.fastcompany.com/3018856/scribd-harpercollins-launch-899-subscription-book-service |url-status=live }}</ref>
Scribd rolled out a redesign on September 13, 2010 to become, according to TechCrunch, "the social network for reading".<ref>{{cite news| url = https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/13/scribd-redesign/ | title = Scribd Redesign Is An Attempt To Become A "Social Network For Reading" | work = [[TechCrunch]] | access-date = September 13, 2010}}</ref>


In August 2020, Scribd announced its acquisition of the [[LinkedIn]]-owned [[SlideShare]] for an undisclosed amount.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/11/scribd-acquires-slideshare/ | title = Scribd acquires presentation-sharing service SlideShare from LinkedIn | work = [[TechCrunch]] | access-date = August 11, 2020 | archive-date = August 30, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200830072102/https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/11/scribd-acquires-slideshare/ | url-status = live }}</ref>
In October 2013, Scribd launched its e-book subscription service, allowing readers to pay a flat monthly fee in exchange for unlimited access to all of Scribd's book titles.<ref>{{cite web|last=Carr |first=Austin |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3018856/scribd-harpercollins-launch-899-subscription-book-service |title=Scribd, HarperCollins Launch $8.99 Subscription Book Service |work=Fast Company |date=October 1, 2013 |access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref>


In November 2023, Scribd unbundled into three distinct products: Everand, Scribd, and Slideshare. Everand was launched as a new product, focusing solely on books, magazines, podcasts and more.
In August 2020, Scribd announced its acquisition of the [[LinkedIn]]-owned [[SlideShare]] for an undisclosed amount. <ref>{{cite news| url = https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/11/scribd-acquires-slideshare/ | title = Scribd acquires presentation-sharing service SlideShare from LinkedIn | work = [[TechCrunch]] | access-date = August 11, 2020}}</ref>


==Financials==
==Financials==
The company was initially funded with US$120,000 from Y Combinator in 2006, and received over US$3.7 million in June 2007 from Redpoint Ventures and The Kinsey Hills Group.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/scribd-banks-35-million-from-redpoint/ |title=Scribd Banks $3.5 Million from Redpoint}}</ref><ref name="crunchbase"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/12/19/scribd-raises-9-million-hires-new-president-for-social-publishing/ |title=Scribd raises $9 million, hires new president for social publishing |first=Dean |last=Takahashi |website=[[VentureBeat]] |date= December 19, 2008 |access-date=September 3, 2017}}</ref> [[David O. Sacks]], former [[PayPal]] COO and founder of [[Yammer]] and [[Geni.com|Geni]], joined Scribd's board of directors in January 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/18/yammer-founder-david-sacks-joins-scribd-board-of-directors/ |title=Yammer Founder David Sacks Joins Scribd Board Of Directors |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=January 18, 2010 |first=Michael |last=Arrington |access-date= September 3, 2017 }}</ref>
The company was initially funded with US$120,000 from Y Combinator in 2006, and received over US$3.7 million in June 2007 from Redpoint Ventures and The Kinsey Hills Group.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/scribd-banks-35-million-from-redpoint/ |title=Scribd Banks $3.5 Million from Redpoint |date=June 4, 2007 |access-date=June 25, 2017 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807014135/https://techcrunch.com/2007/06/04/scribd-banks-35-million-from-redpoint/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/12/19/scribd-raises-9-million-hires-new-president-for-social-publishing/ |title=Scribd raises $9 million, hires new president for social publishing |first=Dean |last=Takahashi |website=[[VentureBeat]] |date=December 19, 2008 |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807040812/https://venturebeat.com/2008/12/19/scribd-raises-9-million-hires-new-president-for-social-publishing/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[David O. Sacks]], former [[PayPal]] COO and founder of [[Yammer]] and [[Geni.com|Geni]], joined Scribd's board of directors in January 2010.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/18/yammer-founder-david-sacks-joins-scribd-board-of-directors/ |title=Yammer Founder David Sacks Joins Scribd Board Of Directors |work=[[TechCrunch]] |date=January 18, 2010 |first=Michael |last=Arrington |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807021729/https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/18/yammer-founder-david-sacks-joins-scribd-board-of-directors/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


In January 2011, Scribd raised an additional US$13 million in a round led by MLC Investments of Australia and SVB Capital.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://gigaom.com/2011/01/18/419-scribd-raises-13-million-to-support-mobile-moves-product-expansion/ |title=Scribd Raises $13 Million To Support Mobile Moves, Product Expansion |first=David |last=Kaplan |publisher=Gigaom |date=January 18, 2011 }}</ref>
In January 2011, Scribd raised an additional US$13 million in a round led by MLC Investments of Australia and SVB Capital.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://gigaom.com/2011/01/18/419-scribd-raises-13-million-to-support-mobile-moves-product-expansion/ |title=Scribd Raises $13 Million To Support Mobile Moves, Product Expansion |first=David |last=Kaplan |publisher=Gigaom |date=January 18, 2011 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=August 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807075710/https://gigaom.com/2011/01/18/419-scribd-raises-13-million-to-support-mobile-moves-product-expansion/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
In January 2015, the company raised US$22 million in new funding from [[Khosla Ventures]] with partner [[Keith Rabois]] joining the Scribd board of directors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/02/scribd-khosla-funding/|title=Scribd Raises $22M For Its Subscription E-Book Service|first=Anthony|last=Ha|website=[[TechCrunch]]|date=January 2, 2015}}</ref>
In January 2015, the company raised US$22 million in new funding from [[Khosla Ventures]] with partner [[Keith Rabois]] joining the Scribd board of directors.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/02/scribd-khosla-funding/|title=Scribd Raises $22M For Its Subscription E-Book Service|first=Anthony|last=Ha|website=[[TechCrunch]]|date=January 2, 2015|access-date=September 11, 2017|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023082124/https://techcrunch.com/2015/01/02/scribd-khosla-funding/|url-status=live}}</ref>


In 2019, Scribd raised $58 million in new funding led by growth firm Spectrum Equity. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/25/scribd-spectrum-equity/|title= Scribd raises $58M for subscription e-books and audiobooks|first=Anthony|last=Ha|website=[[TechCrunch]]|date=November 25, 2019}}</ref>
In 2019, Scribd raised $58 million in new funding led by growth firm Spectrum Equity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/25/scribd-spectrum-equity/|title=Scribd raises $58M for subscription e-books and audiobooks|first=Anthony|last=Ha|website=[[TechCrunch]]|date=November 25, 2019|access-date=May 10, 2020|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029205438/https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/25/scribd-spectrum-equity/|url-status=live}}</ref>


==Technology==
==Technology==
In July 2008, Scribd began using '''iPaper''', a rich document format similar to [[PDF]] and built for the web, which allows users to embed documents into a web page.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/02/ipaper_a_simple_way_to_view_and_share_documents_on_the_web/ |title=iPaper: a Simple Way to View and Share Documents on the Web | work=Wired | date = February 20, 2008 | access-date=August 28, 2014}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.scribd.com/2008/04/05/scribd-on-your-iphone/ |title=Scribd on your iPhone |website=Scribd |date= April 5, 2008}}</ref> All major document types can be formatted into iPaper including Word docs, [[PowerPoint]] presentations, PDFs, [[OpenDocument]] documents, [[OpenOffice.org XML]] documents, and [[PostScript]] files.
In July 2008, Scribd began using '''iPaper''', a rich document format similar to [[PDF]] and built for the web, which allows users to embed documents into a web page.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/02/ipaper_a_simple_way_to_view_and_share_documents_on_the_web/ |title=iPaper: a Simple Way to View and Share Documents on the Web | magazine=Wired | date = February 20, 2008 | access-date=August 28, 2014}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.scribd.com/2008/04/05/scribd-on-your-iphone/ |title=Scribd on your iPhone |website=Scribd |date=April 5, 2008 |access-date=February 10, 2010 |archive-date=December 12, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212191518/http://blog.scribd.com/2008/04/05/scribd-on-your-iphone/ |url-status=live }}</ref> All major document types can be formatted into iPaper including Word docs, [[PowerPoint]] presentations, PDFs, [[OpenDocument]] documents, [[OpenOffice.org XML]] documents, and [[PostScript]] files.


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 required [[Flash cookie]]s to be enabled, which is the default setting in Flash.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager03.html |title=Global Storage Settings panel |website=macromedia.com |publisher=[[Adobe Systems|Adobe]] |access-date=September 3, 2017 }}</ref>
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 required [[Flash cookie]]s to be enabled, which is the default setting in Flash.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager03.html |title=Global Storage Settings panel |website=macromedia.com |publisher=[[Adobe Systems|Adobe]] |access-date=September 3, 2017 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130054824/http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager03.html |url-status=live }}</ref>


On May 5, 2010, Scribd announced that they would be converting the entire site to [[HTML5]] at the [[Web 2.0]] Conference in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite conference| url = https://conferences.oreilly.com/web2expo/webexsf2010/public/schedule/detail/15348 |first=Jared |last=Friedman | title = HTML5 and The Future of Publishing | conference = Web 2.0 Expo | conference-url = https://conferences.oreilly.com/webexsf2010/ |date = May 6, 2010 | access-date = September 3, 2017}}</ref> 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.'"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/scribd-html5/ |title=Scribd CTO: We Are Scrapping Flash And Betting The Company On HTML5 |first=Erick |last=Schonfeld |website=[[TechCrunch]] |date=May 5, 2010 |access-date=October 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url = http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43942-betting-the-house-on-html5.html | title = Betting the House on HTML5 | first = Andrew Richard | last = Albanese | date = July 26, 2010 | magazine = [[Publishers Weekly]] | access-date = September 3, 2017}}</ref>
On May 5, 2010, Scribd announced that they would be converting the entire site to [[HTML5]] at the [[Web 2.0]] Conference in [[San Francisco]].<ref>{{cite conference| url = https://conferences.oreilly.com/web2expo/webexsf2010/public/schedule/detail/15348 |first=Jared |last=Friedman | title = HTML5 and The Future of Publishing | conference = Web 2.0 Expo | conference-url = https://conferences.oreilly.com/webexsf2010/ |date = May 6, 2010 | access-date = September 3, 2017}}</ref> 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.'"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/scribd-html5/ |title=Scribd CTO: We Are Scrapping Flash And Betting The Company On HTML5 |first=Erick |last=Schonfeld |website=[[TechCrunch]] |date=May 5, 2010 |access-date=October 11, 2010 |archive-date=October 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030150359/https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/05/scribd-html5/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url = http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/43942-betting-the-house-on-html5.html | title = Betting the House on HTML5 | first = Andrew Richard | last = Albanese | date = July 26, 2010 | magazine = [[Publishers Weekly]] | access-date = September 3, 2017}}</ref>


Scribd has its own [[API]] to integrate external/third-party applications,<ref>{{cite web| title = Scribd SAP Largest API Integration Press Release | date = March 10, 2009 | publisher = Scribd| url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/29110682/Scribd-SAP-Largest-API-Integration-Press-Release | access-date = September 22, 2010 }}</ref> but is no longer offering new API accounts.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.scribd.com/developers | title = Scribd Developer Documentation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150728183701/https://www.scribd.com/developers | archive-date = July 28, 2015 }}</ref>
Scribd has its own [[API]] to integrate external/third-party applications,<ref>{{cite web | title = Scribd SAP Largest API Integration Press Release | date = March 10, 2009 | publisher = Scribd | url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/29110682/Scribd-SAP-Largest-API-Integration-Press-Release | access-date = September 22, 2010 | archive-date = September 22, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150922104527/https://www.scribd.com/doc/29110682/Scribd-SAP-Largest-API-Integration-Press-Release | url-status = live }}</ref> but is no longer offering new API accounts.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.scribd.com/developers | title = Scribd Developer Documentation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150728183701/https://www.scribd.com/developers | archive-date = July 28, 2015 }}</ref>


Since 2010, Scribd has been available on mobile phones and e-readers, in addition to personal computers. As of December 2013, Scribd became available on app stores and various mobile devices.{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}}
Since 2010, Scribd has been available on mobile phones and e-readers, in addition to personal computers. As of December 2013, Scribd became available on app stores and various mobile devices.{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}}and had been important for may people


==Reception==
==Reception==

===Accusations of defrauding and stealing from users===

Scribd has been accused by "[having] built its business on stealing from former customers" after numerous complaints of continuing to charge former subscribers on a monthly basis who had cancelled their subscriptions long prior to the charges.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://the-digital-reader.com/scribd-continues-to-steal-from-former-subscribers/ | title=Scribd Continues to Steal from Former Subscribers | date=January 15, 2020 }}</ref>

===Accusations of copyright infringement===
===Accusations of copyright infringement===


Scribd has been accused of copyright infringement. In 2007, one year after its inception, Scribd was served with 25 [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)]] takedown [[DMCA takedown notice#Take down and put back provisions|notices]].<ref>{{cite web| work = Scribd | title = Scribd looks like a winner | date = March 29, 2009 | publisher = TechCrunch | url = https://techcrunch.com/2007/03/25/scribd-growing-like-youtube/ | access-date = January 1, 2010 }}</ref> In March 2009, The ''Guardian'' writes, "Harry Potter author [J.K. Rowling] is among writers shocked to discover their books available as free downloads. Neil Blair, [[J.K. Rowling|Rowling]]’s lawyer, said the Harry Potter downloads were 'unauthorised and unlawful'...Rowling's novels aren't the only ones to be available from Scribd. A quick search throws up novels from [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Ian McEwan]], [[Jeffrey Archer]], [[Ken Follett]], [[Philippa Gregory]], and [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/30/scribd-rowling-free-book-outrage|title=JK Rowling leads fight against free books site Scribd|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=March 30, 2009|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 21, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> In September 2009, American author Elaine Scott alleged that Scribd "shamelessly profits from the stolen copyrighted works of innumerable authors".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/sep/21/scribd-lawsuit | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Book sharing site Scribd rejects claims of copyright infringement | first=Bobbie | last=Johnson | date=September 21, 2009}}</ref> Her attorneys sought [[class action]] status in their efforts to win damages from Scribd for allegedly "egregious copyright infringement" and accused it of calculated copyright infringement for profit.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090919/1907586243.shtml | title = Class Action Copyright Suit Filed Against Scribd... By Jammie Thomas' Lawyers? | publisher = [[TechDirt]] | date=September 21, 2009 | access-date = September 21, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-93.html |title=Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd |first=Greg |last=Sandoval |date=September 19, 2009 |access-date=October 11, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5| title=Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd| date=September 19, 2009| first=Motoko| last=Rich| publisher=[[CNET News.com]]| access-date=September 19, 2009}}</ref> The suit was dropped in July 2010.<ref>{{cite web| work = Scribd | title = Lawsuit Saying Scribd's Copyright-Protection Filters Infringe On Copyrights Has Been Dumped | date = July 19, 2010 | publisher = TechDirt | url = http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100719/12105310280.shtml | access-date = September 24, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/copyrightfiltering-scribd/ | title=Lawsuit Dropped; Claimed That Copyright-Filtering Violates Copyright |date= July 19, 2010 |access-date=February 21, 2013 | last=Kravets |first=David |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref>
Scribd has been accused of copyright infringement. In 2007, one year after its inception, Scribd was served with 25 [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act|Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)]] takedown [[DMCA takedown notice#Take down and put back provisions|notices]].<ref>{{cite web | work = Scribd | title = Scribd looks like a winner | date = March 29, 2009 | publisher = TechCrunch | url = https://techcrunch.com/2007/03/25/scribd-growing-like-youtube/ | access-date = January 1, 2010 | archive-date = October 28, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201028190745/https://techcrunch.com/2007/03/25/scribd-growing-like-youtube/ | url-status = live }}</ref> In March 2009, The ''Guardian'' writes, "Harry Potter author [J.K. Rowling] is among writers shocked to discover their books available as free downloads. Neil Blair, [[J.K. Rowling|Rowling]]’s lawyer, said the Harry Potter downloads were 'unauthorised and unlawful'...Rowling's novels aren't the only ones to be available from Scribd. A quick search throws up novels from [[Salman Rushdie]], [[Ian McEwan]], [[Jeffrey Archer]], [[Ken Follett]], [[Philippa Gregory]], and [[J.R.R. Tolkien]]."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/30/scribd-rowling-free-book-outrage|title=JK Rowling leads fight against free books site Scribd|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=March 30, 2009|work=The Guardian|access-date=July 21, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=October 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029032050/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/mar/30/scribd-rowling-free-book-outrage|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 2009, American author Elaine Scott alleged that Scribd "shamelessly profits from the stolen copyrighted works of innumerable authors".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/sep/21/scribd-lawsuit | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=Book sharing site Scribd rejects claims of copyright infringement | first=Bobbie | last=Johnson | date=September 21, 2009 | access-date=December 17, 2016 | archive-date=August 6, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806235855/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/sep/21/scribd-lawsuit | url-status=live }}</ref> Her attorneys sought [[class action]] status in their efforts to win damages from Scribd for allegedly "egregious copyright infringement" and accused it of calculated copyright infringement for profit.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090919/1907586243.shtml | title = Class Action Copyright Suit Filed Against Scribd... By Jammie Thomas' Lawyers? | publisher = [[TechDirt]] | date = September 21, 2009 | access-date = September 21, 2009 | archive-date = August 7, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200807005434/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090919/1907586243.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-93.html |title=Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd |first=Greg |last=Sandoval |date=September 19, 2009 |access-date=October 11, 2010 |archive-date=December 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229124323/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-93.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10357108-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5| title=Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd| date=September 19, 2009| first=Motoko| last=Rich| publisher=[[CNET News.com]]| access-date=September 19, 2009}}</ref> The suit was dropped in July 2010.<ref>{{cite web | work = Scribd | title = Lawsuit Saying Scribd's Copyright-Protection Filters Infringe On Copyrights Has Been Dumped | date = July 19, 2010 | publisher = TechDirt | url = http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100719/12105310280.shtml | access-date = September 24, 2010 | archive-date = October 26, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201026080358/https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100719/12105310280.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/07/copyrightfiltering-scribd/ | title=Lawsuit Dropped; Claimed That Copyright-Filtering Violates Copyright |date= July 19, 2010 |access-date=February 21, 2013 | last=Kravets |first=David |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]}}</ref>


===Controversies===
===Controversies===


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''.<ref>{{cite news| title = Passwords of Comcast Customers Exposed | date = March 16, 2009 | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | url = https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/passwords-of-8000-comcast-customers-exposed/ | access-date = September 3, 2017 | first=Brad | last=Stone}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Comcast passwords leaked onto the web | date = March 29, 2009 | publisher = [[CNet]] | url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10197789-83.html | access-date = January 1, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Comcast User Names and Passwords Exposed | date = March 29, 2009 | publisher = HotHardware | url = http://hothardware.com/News/Comcast-User-Names-and-Passwords-Exposed/ | access-date = September 3, 2017 }}</ref>
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''.<ref>{{cite news | title = Passwords of Comcast Customers Exposed | date = March 16, 2009 | newspaper = [[The New York Times]] | url = https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/passwords-of-8000-comcast-customers-exposed/ | access-date = September 3, 2017 | first = Brad | last = Stone | archive-date = August 7, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200807020631/https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/passwords-of-8000-comcast-customers-exposed/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Comcast passwords leaked onto the web | date = March 29, 2009 | publisher = [[CNet]] | url = http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10197789-83.html | access-date = January 1, 2010 | archive-date = December 29, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131229124327/http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10197789-83.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Comcast User Names and Passwords Exposed | date = March 29, 2009 | publisher = HotHardware | url = http://hothardware.com/News/Comcast-User-Names-and-Passwords-Exposed/ | access-date = September 3, 2017 | archive-date = August 5, 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200805022349/https://hothardware.com/news/comcast-user-names-and-passwords-exposed | url-status = live }}</ref>


In July 2010, [[Gigaom]] reported that the script of ''[[The Social Network]]'' (2010) movie was uploaded and leaked on Scribd; it was promptly taken down per [[Sony]]'s [[DMCA]] request.<ref name=gig>{{cite web|last=Gannes|first=Liz|title=Leaked Facebook Movie Script Paints Zuckerberg as Vindictive and Naive|url=http://gigaom.com/2010/07/27/facebook-movie-script-paints-zuckerberg-as-vindictive-and-naive/|date=July 27, 2010|publisher=Gigaom}}</ref>
In July 2010, [[Gigaom]] reported that the script of ''[[The Social Network]]'' (2010) movie was uploaded and leaked on Scribd; it was promptly taken down per [[Sony]]'s [[DMCA]] request.<ref name=gig>{{cite web|last=Gannes|first=Liz|title=Leaked Facebook Movie Script Paints Zuckerberg as Vindictive and Naive|url=http://gigaom.com/2010/07/27/facebook-movie-script-paints-zuckerberg-as-vindictive-and-naive/|date=July 27, 2010|publisher=Gigaom|access-date=January 18, 2013|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109020050/https://gigaom.com/2010/07/27/facebook-movie-script-paints-zuckerberg-as-vindictive-and-naive/|url-status=live}}</ref>


Following a decision of the Istanbul 12th Criminal Court of Peace, dated 8 March 2013, access to Scribd is blocked for Internet users in [[Turkey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Freedom on the Net – Turkey 2013 |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/turkey |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |access-date=October 3, 2013}}</ref>
Following a decision of the Istanbul 12th Criminal Court of Peace, dated March 8, 2013, access to Scribd is blocked for Internet users in [[Turkey]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Freedom on the Net – Turkey 2013 |url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/turkey |publisher=[[Freedom House]] |access-date=October 3, 2013 |archive-date=September 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901155403/https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2013/turkey |url-status=live }}</ref>


In July 2014, Scribd was sued by Disability Rights Advocates (represented by [[Haben Girma]]), on behalf of the [[National Federation of the Blind]] and a blind [[Vermont]] resident, for allegedly failing to provide access to blind readers, in violation of the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disability Act]].<ref name="bus-20aug2014">{{cite news|last1=Adwar|first1=Corey|title=26-Year-Old Deaf-Blind Lawyer Sues Scribd For Alleged Discrimination|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/haben-girma-sues-scribd-2014-8|access-date=April 21, 2017|newspaper=[[Business Insider]]|date=August 20, 2014}}</ref> Scribd moved to dismiss, arguing that the ADA only applied to physical locations. In March 2015, the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont|U.S. District Court of Vermont]] ruled that the ADA covered online businesses as well. A settlement agreement was reached, with Scribd agreeing to provide content accessible to blind readers by the end of 2017.<ref name="dra-14jul2016">{{cite web|title=National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Scribd, Inc.|url=http://dralegal.org/case/national-federation-of-the-blind-et-al-v-scribd-inc/|website=Disability Rights Advocates|access-date=April 21, 2017|date=July 14, 2016}}</ref>
In July 2014, Scribd was sued by Disability Rights Advocates (represented by [[Haben Girma]]), on behalf of the [[National Federation of the Blind]] and a blind [[Vermont]] resident, for allegedly failing to provide access to blind readers, in violation of the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disability Act]].<ref name="bus-20aug2014">{{cite news|last1=Adwar|first1=Corey|title=26-Year-Old Deaf-Blind Lawyer Sues Scribd For Alleged Discrimination|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/haben-girma-sues-scribd-2014-8|access-date=April 21, 2017|newspaper=[[Business Insider]]|date=August 20, 2014|archive-date=February 16, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216051514/https://www.businessinsider.com/haben-girma-sues-scribd-2014-8|url-status=live}}</ref> Scribd moved to dismiss, arguing that the ADA only applied to physical locations. In March 2015, the [[United States District Court for the District of Vermont|U.S. District Court of Vermont]] ruled that the ADA covered online businesses as well. A settlement agreement was reached, with Scribd agreeing to provide content accessible to blind readers by the end of 2017.<ref name="dra-14jul2016">{{cite web|title=National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Scribd, Inc.|url=http://dralegal.org/case/national-federation-of-the-blind-et-al-v-scribd-inc/|website=Disability Rights Advocates|access-date=April 21, 2017|date=July 14, 2016|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103140940/https://dralegal.org/case/national-federation-of-the-blind-et-al-v-scribd-inc/|url-status=live}}</ref>


===BookID===
===BookID===


To counteract the uploading of unauthorized content, Scribd created BookID, an automated copyright protection system that helps authors and publishers identify unauthorized use of their works on Scribd.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.scribd.com/copyright/bookid |title=BookID |publisher=Scribd |date=June 29, 2015 }}</ref> This technology works by analyzing documents for semantic data, metadata, images, and other elements and creates an encoded "fingerprint" of the copyrighted work.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/french-watchdog-accuses-scribd-of-ebook-piracy |title=French Watchdog Accuses Scribd of eBook Piracy |first=Michael |last=Kozlowski |publisher=Good eReader |date=October 13, 2014 }}</ref>
To counteract the uploading of unauthorized content, Scribd created BookID, an automated copyright protection system that helps authors and publishers identify unauthorized use of their works on Scribd.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.scribd.com/copyright/bookid |title=BookID |publisher=Scribd |date=June 29, 2015 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=December 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229005349/https://www.scribd.com/copyright/bookid |url-status=live }}</ref> This technology works by analyzing documents for semantic data, metadata, images, and other elements and creates an encoded "fingerprint" of the copyrighted work.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/french-watchdog-accuses-scribd-of-ebook-piracy |title=French Watchdog Accuses Scribd of eBook Piracy |first=Michael |last=Kozlowski |publisher=Good eReader |date=October 13, 2014 |access-date=July 14, 2015 |archive-date=August 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817123311/https://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/french-watchdog-accuses-scribd-of-ebook-piracy |url-status=live }}</ref>


==Supported file formats==
==Supported file formats==
Supported formats include:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.scribd.com/forums/35566/entries/25092 |title=Info, FAQs, and Forums/FAQ: Writing, Uploading and Managing Documents |author=Jason |date= February 26, 2009 |access-date=October 11, 2010}}</ref>
Supported formats include:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://support.scribd.com/forums/35566/entries/25092 |title=Info, FAQs, and Forums/FAQ: Writing, Uploading and Managing Documents |author=Jason |date=February 26, 2009 |access-date=October 11, 2010 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624020507/https://support.scribd.com/hc/404 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jasons |date=2023-10-29 |title=Scribd Downloader - Download Scribd for free Online Docs 2024 |url=https://dlscribd.net/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240321212912/https://dlscribd.net/ |archive-date=2024-03-21 |access-date=2024-03-28 |language=en-US}}</ref>


* [[Microsoft Excel]] ([[.xls]], [[.xlsx]])
* [[Microsoft Excel]] ([[.xls]], [[.xlsx]])
Line 119: Line 127:
==See also==
==See also==
* [[SlideShare|Slideshare]]
* [[SlideShare|Slideshare]]
* Everand
*[[Kindle Unlimited|Amazon Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited]]
*[[Kindle Unlimited|Amazon Lending Library and Kindle Unlimited]]
* [[Document collaboration]]
* [[Document collaboration]]
* [[Oyster (company)]]
* [[Oyster (company)]]
* [[Wayback Machine]]
* [[Wayback Machine]]
* [[Webcite]]
* [[WebCite]]


==References==
==References==
Line 129: Line 138:


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commonscat}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{Official website}}


Line 137: Line 146:
[[Category:2007 establishments in California]]
[[Category:2007 establishments in California]]
[[Category:American companies established in 2007]]
[[Category:American companies established in 2007]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 2007]]
[[Category:Android (operating system) software]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:Companies based in San Francisco]]
[[Category:E-book suppliers]]
[[Category:Ebook suppliers]]
[[Category:File sharing communities]]
[[Category:File sharing communities]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2007]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2007]]
[[Category:Online retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Online retailers of the United States]]
[[Category:Privately held companies based in California]]
[[Category:Privately held companies based in California]]
[[Category:Retail companies established in 2007]]
[[Category:Subscription services]]
[[Category:Subscription services]]
[[Category:Y Combinator companies]]
[[Category:Y Combinator companies]]

Revision as of 17:44, 15 August 2024

Scribd, Inc.
Type of businessPrivate
Available inEnglish, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish
FoundedMarch 2007; 17 years ago (2007-03)
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, U.S.
Founder(s)Trip Adler
Jared Friedman
Tikhon Bernstam
CEOTony Grimminck
ServicesSocial reading and publishing platform
SubsidiariesSlideShare
Everand
URLwww.scribd.com

Scribd Inc. (pronounced /ˈskrɪbd/) operates three primary platforms: Scribd, Everand, and SlideShare. Scribd is a digital document library that hosts over 195 million documents. Everand is a digital content subscription service offering a wide selection of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, podcasts, and sheet music. SlideShare is an online platform featuring over 15 million presentations from subject matter experts.[1][2][3]

The company was founded in 2007 by Trip Adler, Jared Friedman, and Tikhon Bernstam, and headquartered in San Francisco, California. Tony Grimminck took over as CEO in 2024.

History

Previous logo

Founding (2007–2013)

Scribd began as a site to host and share documents.[2] While at Harvard, Trip Adler was inspired to start Scribd after learning about the lengthy process required to publish academic papers.[4] His father, a doctor at Stanford, was told it would take 18 months to have his medical research published.[4] Adler wanted to create a simple way to publish and share written content online.[5] He co-founded Scribd with Jared Friedman and attended the inaugural class of Y Combinator in the summer of 2006.[6] There, Scribd received its initial $120,000 in seed funding and then launched in a San Francisco apartment in March 2007.[7]

Scribd was called "the YouTube for documents", allowing anyone to self-publish on the site using its document reader.[4] The document reader turns PDFs, Word documents, and PowerPoints into Web documents that can be shared on any website that allows embeds.[8] In its first year, Scribd grew rapidly to 23.5 million visitors as of November 2008.[9] It also ranked as one of the top 20 social media sites according to Comscore.[9]

In June 2009, Scribd launched the Scribd Store, enabling writers to easily upload and sell digital copies of their work online.[10] That same month, the site partnered with Simon & Schuster to sell e-books on Scribd.[11] The deal made digital editions of 5,000 titles available for purchase on Scribd, including books from bestselling authors like Stephen King, Dan Brown, and Mary Higgins Clark.[12]

In October 2009, Scribd launched its branded reader for media companies including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and MediaBistro.[8] ProQuest began publishing dissertations and theses on Scribd in December 2009.[13] In August 2010, many notable documents hosted on Scribd began to go viral, including the California Proposition 8 ruling, which received over 100,000 views in about 24 minutes, and HP's lawsuit against Mark Hurd's move to Oracle.[14][15]

Subscription service (2013–2023)

Screenshots of Scribd's subscription service

In October 2013, Scribd officially launched its unlimited subscription service for e-books. This gave users unlimited access to Scribd's library of digital books for a flat monthly fee.[1] The company also announced a partnership with HarperCollins which made the entire backlist of HarperCollins' catalog available on the subscription service.[16] According to Chantal Restivo-Alessi, chief digital officer at HarperCollins, this marked the first time that the publisher has released such a large portion of its catalog.[17] In March 2014, Scribd announced a deal with Lonely Planet, offering the travel publisher's entire library on its subscription service.[18]

In May 2014, Scribd further increased its subscription offering with 10,000 titles from Simon & Schuster.[19] These titles included works from authors such as: Ray Bradbury, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Ernest Hemingway, Walter Isaacson, Stephen King, Chuck Klosterman, and David McCullough.[20] Scribd has been criticized for advertising a free 14 day trial for which payment is required before readers can trial the products. Readers discover this when they attempt to download material.

Scribd added audiobooks to its subscription service in November 2014 and comic books in February 2015.[21][22]

In February 2016, it was announced that only titles from a rotating selection of the library would be available for unlimited reading, and subscribers would have credits to read three books and one audiobook per month from the entire library with unused credits rolling over to the next month.[23]

The reporting system was discontinued on February 6, 2018, in favor of a system of "constantly rotating catalogs of ebooks and audiobooks" that provided "an unlimited number of books and audiobooks, alongside unlimited access to news, magazines, documents, and sheet music"[24] for a monthly subscription fee of US$8.99.[25] However, under this unlimited service, Scribd would occasionally "limit the titles that you’re able to access within a specific content library in a 30-day period."[26]

In October 2018, Scribd announced a joint subscription to Scribd and The New York Times for $12.99 per month.

Audiobooks

In November 2014, Scribd added audiobooks to its subscription library.[27] Wired noted that this was the first subscription service to offer unlimited access to audiobooks, and "it represents a much larger shift in the way digital content is consumed over the net."[28] In April 2015, the company expanded its audiobook catalog in a deal with Penguin Random House.[29] This added 9,000 audiobooks to its platform including titles from authors like Lena Dunham, John Grisham, Gillian Flynn, and George R.R. Martin.[30]

Comics

In February 2015, Scribd introduced comics to its subscription service.[31] The company added 10,000 comics and graphic novels from publishers including Marvel, Archie, Boom! Studios, Dynamite, IDW, and Valiant.[22] These included series such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Daredevil, X-O Manowar, and The Avengers.[32][33] However, in December 2016, comics were eliminated from the service due to low demand.

Unbundling (2023 - present)

In November 2023, Scribd unbundled from one single product into three distinct ones: Everand, Scribd, and Slideshare. Everand was launched as a new subscription-based service, focused solely on a customer looking for entertainment in the form of books, magazines, podcasts and more.

Timeline

In February 2010, Scribd unveiled its first mobile plans for e-readers and smartphones.[34] In April 2010 Scribd launched a new feature called "Readcast",[35] which allows automatic sharing of documents on Facebook and Twitter.[36] Also in April 2010, Scribd announced its integration of Facebook social plug-ins at the Facebook f8 Developer Conference.[37]

Scribd rolled out a redesign on September 13, 2010, to become, according to TechCrunch, "the social network for reading".[38]

In October 2013, Scribd launched its e-book subscription service, allowing readers to pay a flat monthly fee in exchange for unlimited access to all of Scribd's book titles.[39]

In August 2020, Scribd announced its acquisition of the LinkedIn-owned SlideShare for an undisclosed amount.[40]

In November 2023, Scribd unbundled into three distinct products: Everand, Scribd, and Slideshare. Everand was launched as a new product, focusing solely on books, magazines, podcasts and more.

Financials

The company was initially funded with US$120,000 from Y Combinator in 2006, and received over US$3.7 million in June 2007 from Redpoint Ventures and The Kinsey Hills Group.[41] 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.[42] David O. Sacks, former PayPal COO and founder of Yammer and Geni, joined Scribd's board of directors in January 2010.[43]

In January 2011, Scribd raised an additional US$13 million in a round led by MLC Investments of Australia and SVB Capital.[44] In January 2015, the company raised US$22 million in new funding from Khosla Ventures with partner Keith Rabois joining the Scribd board of directors.[45]

In 2019, Scribd raised $58 million in new funding led by growth firm Spectrum Equity.[46]

Technology

In July 2008, Scribd began using iPaper, a rich document format similar to PDF and built for the web, which allows users to embed documents into a web page.[47] 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).[48] All major document types can be formatted into iPaper including Word docs, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, OpenDocument documents, OpenOffice.org XML documents, and PostScript files.

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 required Flash cookies to be enabled, which is the default setting in Flash.[49]

On May 5, 2010, Scribd announced that they would be converting the entire site to HTML5 at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco.[50] 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.'"[51][52]

Scribd has its own API to integrate external/third-party applications,[53] but is no longer offering new API accounts.[54]

Since 2010, Scribd has been available on mobile phones and e-readers, in addition to personal computers. As of December 2013, Scribd became available on app stores and various mobile devices.[citation needed]and had been important for may people

Reception

Accusations of defrauding and stealing from users

Scribd has been accused by "[having] built its business on stealing from former customers" after numerous complaints of continuing to charge former subscribers on a monthly basis who had cancelled their subscriptions long prior to the charges.[55]

Scribd has been accused of copyright infringement. In 2007, one year after its inception, Scribd was served with 25 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices.[56] In March 2009, The Guardian writes, "Harry Potter author [J.K. Rowling] is among writers shocked to discover their books available as free downloads. Neil Blair, Rowling’s lawyer, said the Harry Potter downloads were 'unauthorised and unlawful'...Rowling's novels aren't the only ones to be available from Scribd. A quick search throws up novels from Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Jeffrey Archer, Ken Follett, Philippa Gregory, and J.R.R. Tolkien."[57] In September 2009, American author Elaine Scott alleged that Scribd "shamelessly profits from the stolen copyrighted works of innumerable authors".[58] Her attorneys sought class action status in their efforts to win damages from Scribd for allegedly "egregious copyright infringement" and accused it of calculated copyright infringement for profit.[59][60][61] The suit was dropped in July 2010.[62][63]

Controversies

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.[64][65][66]

In July 2010, Gigaom reported that the script of The Social Network (2010) movie was uploaded and leaked on Scribd; it was promptly taken down per Sony's DMCA request.[67]

Following a decision of the Istanbul 12th Criminal Court of Peace, dated March 8, 2013, access to Scribd is blocked for Internet users in Turkey.[68]

In July 2014, Scribd was sued by Disability Rights Advocates (represented by Haben Girma), on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind and a blind Vermont resident, for allegedly failing to provide access to blind readers, in violation of the Americans with Disability Act.[69] Scribd moved to dismiss, arguing that the ADA only applied to physical locations. In March 2015, the U.S. District Court of Vermont ruled that the ADA covered online businesses as well. A settlement agreement was reached, with Scribd agreeing to provide content accessible to blind readers by the end of 2017.[70]

BookID

To counteract the uploading of unauthorized content, Scribd created BookID, an automated copyright protection system that helps authors and publishers identify unauthorized use of their works on Scribd.[71] This technology works by analyzing documents for semantic data, metadata, images, and other elements and creates an encoded "fingerprint" of the copyrighted work.[72]

Supported file formats

Supported formats include:[73][74]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Metz, Cade (October 1, 2013). "Scribd Challenges Amazon and Apple With 'Netflix for Books'". Wired. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Orin, Andy (June 11, 2014). "Behind the App: The Story of Scribd". Lifehacker. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  3. ^ Schnuer, Jenna (November 8, 2013). "We Test It: Scribd's All-You-Can Read Digital Buffet". Entrepreneur. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  4. ^ a b c Krasny, Jill (June 24, 2014). "Scribd: The Library of the Future?". Inc.
  5. ^ "Best Young Tech Entrepreneurs 2010". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Scribd". Y Combinator. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  7. ^ "Scribd | Interview with its Co-Founder & CEO – Trip Adler". Cleverism. December 10, 2014. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  8. ^ a b MacMillan, Robert (October 7, 2009). "From the desk of [your news outlet] and Scribd". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 10, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Schonfeld, Erick (December 31, 2008). "Scribd Had A Blowout Year, And So Did the Web Document". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  10. ^ Stone, Brad (May 17, 2009). "Site Lets Writers Sell Digital Copies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  11. ^ Stone, Brad (July 11, 2009). "Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  12. ^ Stone, Brad (June 12, 2009). "Simon & Schuster to Sell Digital Books on Scribd.com". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  13. ^ "Scribd to publish dissertations and theses". TeleRead. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  14. ^ Gannes, Liz (August 4, 2010). "Prop 8 Ruling Is Scribd's Most Viral Doc Ever". Gigaom. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  15. ^ Siegler, M.G. (September 7, 2010). "HP Confirms It Is Suing Mark Hurd For Potential Leakage Of Trade Secrets To Oracle". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 8, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  16. ^ Bosman, Julie (October 1, 2013). "HarperCollins Joins Scribd in E-Book Subscription Plan". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  17. ^ Ha, Anthony (October 1, 2013). "With HarperCollins Deal, Scribd Unveils Its Bid To Become The Netflix For Books". TechCrunch. AOL Inc. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  18. ^ Ha, Anthony (March 26, 2014). "Scribd's Subscription E-Book Service Moves Into Travel With The Full Lonely Planet Library". Techcrunch. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  19. ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. (March 21, 2014). "Simon & Schuster, E-Book Services Strike Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  20. ^ Owen, Laura Hazard (May 21, 2014). "Simon & Schuster adds its books to ebook subscription sites Scribd and Oyster". Gigaom. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  21. ^ Mac, Ryan (November 6, 2014). "Scribd Adds Audiobooks To All-You-Read Library, Piling Pressure On Amazon". Forbes.
  22. ^ a b Ha, Anthony (February 10, 2015). "Scribd Adds Comics From Marvel, IDW, And Others To Its Subscription E-Book Service". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  23. ^ "Scribd will change its subscription service from unlimited to semi-unlimited". TeleRead. February 16, 2016. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  24. ^ "When did I get unlimited reading?". Scribd Help Center. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  25. ^ "Scribd's Membership". Scribd Help Center. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  26. ^ O., Katy (August 28, 2018). "How many books can I read each month?". Scribd Help Center. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. ^ Kastrenakes, Jacob (November 6, 2014). "Scribd expands its subscription library to include audiobooks". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  28. ^ Metz, Cade (November 6, 2014). "Scribd Rolls Out the Internet's First All-You-Can-Listen Audiobooks Service". Wired.
  29. ^ Wright, Mic (April 16, 2015). "Scribd adds 9,000 Penguin Random House audiobooks including 'Game of Thrones'". The Next Web. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  30. ^ Alter, Alexandra (April 16, 2015). "Scribd Expands Audiobook Catalog in Deal With Penguin Random House". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  31. ^ Alba, Davey (February 10, 2015). "Scribd Unveils 'Netflix for Comics'". Wired.
  32. ^ Fiegerman, Seth (February 10, 2015). "Scribd gains the superpower of an unlimited comic book subscription". Mashable. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  33. ^ Mitroff, Sarah (February 10, 2015). "Scribd serves up all the comics you can read, for $9 per month". CNet. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  34. ^ Fowler, Geoffrey A. (February 10, 2010). "Scribd Plans Mobile Application". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  35. ^ "Scribd gets 'Readcasting': Autosharing made easy". CNet. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  36. ^ "Scribd launches readcast". Marketwire. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  37. ^ "Scribd's bet on the Facebook Effect". CNN. April 21, 2010. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  38. ^ "Scribd Redesign Is An Attempt To Become A "Social Network For Reading"". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  39. ^ Carr, Austin (October 1, 2013). "Scribd, HarperCollins Launch $8.99 Subscription Book Service". Fast Company. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
  40. ^ "Scribd acquires presentation-sharing service SlideShare from LinkedIn". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  41. ^ "Scribd Banks $3.5 Million from Redpoint". June 4, 2007. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  42. ^ Takahashi, Dean (December 19, 2008). "Scribd raises $9 million, hires new president for social publishing". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  43. ^ Arrington, Michael (January 18, 2010). "Yammer Founder David Sacks Joins Scribd Board Of Directors". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  44. ^ Kaplan, David (January 18, 2011). "Scribd Raises $13 Million To Support Mobile Moves, Product Expansion". Gigaom. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  45. ^ Ha, Anthony (January 2, 2015). "Scribd Raises $22M For Its Subscription E-Book Service". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  46. ^ Ha, Anthony (November 25, 2019). "Scribd raises $58M for subscription e-books and audiobooks". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  47. ^ "iPaper: a Simple Way to View and Share Documents on the Web". Wired. February 20, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2014.
  48. ^ "Scribd on your iPhone". Scribd. April 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved February 10, 2010.
  49. ^ "Global Storage Settings panel". macromedia.com. Adobe. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  50. ^ Friedman, Jared (May 6, 2010). HTML5 and The Future of Publishing. Web 2.0 Expo. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  51. ^ Schonfeld, Erick (May 5, 2010). "Scribd CTO: We Are Scrapping Flash And Betting The Company On HTML5". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  52. ^ Albanese, Andrew Richard (July 26, 2010). "Betting the House on HTML5". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  53. ^ "Scribd SAP Largest API Integration Press Release". Scribd. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2010.
  54. ^ "Scribd Developer Documentation". Archived from the original on July 28, 2015.
  55. ^ "Scribd Continues to Steal from Former Subscribers". January 15, 2020.
  56. ^ "Scribd looks like a winner". Scribd. TechCrunch. March 29, 2009. Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  57. ^ Flood, Alison (March 30, 2009). "JK Rowling leads fight against free books site Scribd". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  58. ^ Johnson, Bobbie (September 21, 2009). "Book sharing site Scribd rejects claims of copyright infringement". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
  59. ^ "Class Action Copyright Suit Filed Against Scribd... By Jammie Thomas' Lawyers?". TechDirt. September 21, 2009. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2009.
  60. ^ Sandoval, Greg (September 19, 2009). "Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd". Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  61. ^ Rich, Motoko (September 19, 2009). "Jammie Thomas lawyers file suit against Scribd". CNET News.com. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  62. ^ "Lawsuit Saying Scribd's Copyright-Protection Filters Infringe On Copyrights Has Been Dumped". Scribd. TechDirt. July 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
  63. ^ Kravets, David (July 19, 2010). "Lawsuit Dropped; Claimed That Copyright-Filtering Violates Copyright". Wired. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  64. ^ Stone, Brad (March 16, 2009). "Passwords of Comcast Customers Exposed". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  65. ^ "Comcast passwords leaked onto the web". CNet. March 29, 2009. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  66. ^ "Comcast User Names and Passwords Exposed". HotHardware. March 29, 2009. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  67. ^ Gannes, Liz (July 27, 2010). "Leaked Facebook Movie Script Paints Zuckerberg as Vindictive and Naive". Gigaom. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  68. ^ "Freedom on the Net – Turkey 2013". Freedom House. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  69. ^ Adwar, Corey (August 20, 2014). "26-Year-Old Deaf-Blind Lawyer Sues Scribd For Alleged Discrimination". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  70. ^ "National Federation of the Blind, et al. v. Scribd, Inc". Disability Rights Advocates. July 14, 2016. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
  71. ^ "BookID". Scribd. June 29, 2015. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  72. ^ Kozlowski, Michael (October 13, 2014). "French Watchdog Accuses Scribd of eBook Piracy". Good eReader. Archived from the original on August 17, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  73. ^ Jason (February 26, 2009). "Info, FAQs, and Forums/FAQ: Writing, Uploading and Managing Documents". Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  74. ^ Jasons (October 29, 2023). "Scribd Downloader - Download Scribd for free Online Docs 2024". Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.