When did Ars Technica launch its United Kingdom site and what happened to it in 2017?

Ars Technica launched its United Kingdom site on the 5th of May 2015 to expand its coverage of issues related to the UK and Europe. Condé Nast announced in September 2017 that it was significantly downsizing its Ars Technica UK arm and laid off all but one member of its permanent editorial staff.

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Who founded Ars Technica and when was it launched?

Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes launched Ars Technica in 1998. The founders operated the site from Boston and Chicago as a loose collective of geeks before it became a corporate entity.

When did Condé Nast acquire Ars Technica and for how much money?

Condé Nast Digital purchased Ars Technica on the 19th of May 2008 for $25 million. This transaction included Webmonkey and HotWired, bringing the total cost to $25 million for the three unaffiliated websites.

What academic credentials do Ars Technica editors hold?

Ars Technica editors hold advanced academic credentials including PhDs from institutions like the University of California, Berkeley and Memorial Sloan Kettering. John Timmer earned a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and worked as a postdoc at Memorial Sloan Kettering before teaching scientific writing.

What happened when Ars Technica blocked Adblock Plus users on the 5th of March 2010?

Ars Technica experimentally blocked readers using Adblock Plus on the 5th of March 2010 but lifted the block the next day. The day after the article was published, 25,000 readers who used the software allowed the display of advertisements on Ars Technica in their browser.

When did Ars Technica record its highest daily traffic and what event caused it?

Ars Technica recorded its highest daily traffic on the 12th of September 2012 during coverage of the iPhone 5 event. The site recorded 15.3 million page views, with 13.2 million of those views coming from its live blog platform dedicated to the event.

Ars Technica

Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes launched a website in 1998 with the explicit goal of making technology coverage fun while remaining as accurate as possible. The name Ars Technica, a Latin phrase meaning Art of Technology, signaled a departure from the dry, academic tone that dominated early internet journalism. Fisher lived in his parents' house in Boston while Stokes resided in Chicago, and the initial team of writers was scattered across the United States, operating as a loose collective of geeks rather than a corporate entity. Their mission was to provide the best multi-OS, PC hardware, and tech coverage possible, treating the project as a hobby that they hoped might one day become a sustainable business. This humble beginning stood in stark contrast to the massive media conglomerate that would eventually acquire them, yet the core philosophy of combining deep technical knowledge with a conversational voice remained intact.

The Big Sale

On the 19th of May 2008, the independent operation of Ars Technica came to an abrupt end when Condé Nast Digital purchased the site for $25 million. This transaction was part of a larger deal that included Webmonkey and HotWired, bringing the total cost to $25 million for the three unaffiliated websites. Fisher and Stokes, along with eight other writers, transitioned from independent operators to employees of Condé Nast, joining the Wired Digital group which also housed Wired and, at the time, Reddit. The sale was driven by the writers' desire to turn their hobby into a legitimate business, a decision Fisher confirmed in an interview with The New York Times where he noted that other companies had offered to buy the site but Condé Nast offered the best path forward. The acquisition did not last without friction, as layoffs at Condé Nast in November 2008 affected websites across the board, including Ars Technica, signaling the turbulent nature of the media landscape during that period.

The Science of Staff

The editorial team behind Ars Technica is distinguished by an unusual concentration of advanced academic credentials that bridge the gap between researchers and the public. John Timmer, the science editor, earned a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and worked as a postdoc at Memorial Sloan Kettering before teaching scientific writing at Stony Brook University and Weill Cornell Medical College. Beth Mole holds a PhD in microbiology and previously worked at Science News, while Eric Berger, who covers space exploration, came from the Houston Chronicle. Jennifer Ouelette, formerly the science editor of Gizmodo, contributes science and culture coverage, and Timothy Lee served as a scholar at the Cato Institute until 2013. Biology journal Disease Models & Mechanisms described the site as a conduit between researchers and the public, highlighting how writers like Jon Stokes, who published the computer architecture textbook Inside The Machine in 2007, bring academic rigor to consumer technology reviews.

Common questions

Who founded Ars Technica and when was it launched?

When did Condé Nast acquire Ars Technica and for how much money?

What academic credentials do Ars Technica editors hold?

What happened when Ars Technica blocked Adblock Plus users on the 5th of March 2010?

When did Ars Technica record its highest daily traffic and what event caused it?

Ars Technica

The Big Sale

The Science of Staff

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When did Ars Technica launch its United Kingdom site and what happened to it in 2017?

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