ReadWrite is a San Francisco-based technology news outlet covering emerging tech, the Internet of Things, and innovation for a global audience. Originally launched in 2003 as ReadWriteWeb (RWW) by New Zealand technology writer Richard MacManus, it grew into one of the most influential technology blogs of the Web 2.0 era — syndicated by The New York Times, ranked among the top blogs in the world, and read by the industry's decision-makers. Over two decades it has been acquired, rebranded, and redirected multiple times, and today it publishes technology coverage focused on cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and emerging tech under editor-in-chief Brad Anderson.
Founding as ReadWriteWeb in 2003
Richard MacManus started ReadWriteWeb as his own personal technology blog from his home in New Zealand on April 20, 2003. At the time he was a corporate Web manager; he quit the day job in August 2005 to work for himself, making ReadWriteWeb his first venture into business.
MacManus quickly became known for his deep insight and passion about innovation — from the rise of Web 2.0 to the future of publishing, the Internet of Things, and the new mobile revolution. Although MacManus was based in Lower Hutt, New Zealand (later Wellington), the blog had a global perspective and audience: half its readership was in the United States, and he coordinated a team of writers from several locations around the world, running on Silicon Valley time with a San Francisco phone number and Skype.
ReadWriteWeb was the first blog in what became the ReadWriteWeb Network of Web technology blogs, which also included last100 (a blog about digital lifestyle) and AltSearchEngines (a blog about alternative search engines).
Rise to Global Prominence
ReadWriteWeb became one of the most popular technology blogs in the world, known for offering insightful analysis about each day's internet industry news. In October 2010, Technorati ranked ReadWriteWeb at No. 12 in its list of the top 100 blogs worldwide, and it ranked No. 10 in the Techmeme leaderboards. It was included in PC Magazine's 2007 list of "100 Blogs We Love" and made the New York Times blog list; MacManus guest-blogged at ZDNet.
Around September or October 2008, The New York Times technology section began syndicating ReadWriteWeb content online — a signal of how far a New Zealand-based blog had penetrated mainstream tech journalism. The site also ran international channels in France, Spain, Brazil, and China. Its readers, the site said, were "smart and influential decision makers," and the blog was pulling in nearly 50,000 page views per day by the mid-2000s.
Acquisition by SAY Media
In 2011, ReadWriteWeb was acquired by SAY Media, a digital media company building passion-based vertical media properties. The deal was announced as giving the site the ability to "scale ReadWriteWeb in ways previously unavailable" — expanding its editorial scope and redesigning the site for a more premium experience for readers and advertisers. The acquisition strengthened SAY Media's technology channel, which included properties such as Android and Me, Gear Patrol, gdgt, SplatF, and Techdirt.
"We're incredibly excited to be joining SAY Media and believe this partnership will help us better serve our community of readers," said Richard MacManus at the time. Dan Frommer, founder of SplatF, joined as editor-at-large.
The 2012 Rebrand to ReadWrite
On October 22, 2012, ReadWriteWeb redesigned its website, rebranded as ReadWrite, and hired Daniel Lyons as the new editor-in-chief. The announcement framed the change as the next chapter: "We are now ReadWrite," the site wrote, while acknowledging that "the ReadWriteWeb of old is gone, along with many people that made it what it was."
Lyons' tenure was brief. He left ReadWrite on March 20, 2013, and was replaced by Owen Thomas, a veteran Silicon Valley journalist who led the site from 2013 to 2016. Trevor Curwin followed as editor-in-chief from 2016 to 2017.
Sale to Wearable World and Crowdfunding
In February 2015, SAY Media sold ReadWrite to Wearable World, a San Francisco-based company focused on wearable technology and the Internet of Things. In June 2015, the company announced a crowdfunding campaign — an unusual move reflecting the site's attempt to build a reader-supported future under its new ownership.
The Wearable World era pushed the site's coverage toward IoT and connected devices, aligning with the parent company's focus. Clayton Jacobs served as editor-in-chief from 2017 to 2018, a period during which the site's direction shifted significantly.
The 2017 Pivot and Brad Anderson Era
In 2017, the website rebranded as a casino expert advice "blog" — a controversial detour that broke with its technology journalism heritage. Brad Anderson then took over as editor-in-chief in 2018 and changed the site into a cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence, and technology-based website, restoring a technology focus.
Under Anderson, ReadWrite has published technology coverage spanning AI, crypto, gadgets, and innovation news. The site continues to operate from San Francisco, serving a global audience interested in emerging technology. Its international perspective remains a differentiator: the publication's writers have historically worked from diverse locations, and the brand's roots in a New Zealand founder's global outlook still echo in coverage that treats technology as a worldwide phenomenon rather than a Silicon Valley-only story.
The ClickOut Acquisition
In 2024, founder Richard MacManus reported that ReadWrite had been acquired by ClickOut, a gambling PR company — the latest in the site's long series of ownership changes. The acquisition added another chapter to the publication's complicated corporate history, which began with MacManus selling his blog to a U.S. company at the end of 2011.
Writing about his experience years later, MacManus reflected on having spent nearly a decade running Read/Write Web from New Zealand, noting that he started the blog simply "to write about Web technology and try to connect to people with similar passion" — and that to his surprise, he connected with many such people through the blog, a good portion of them in Silicon Valley.
MacManus has also written about the personal costs of the transition. He described 2012 — the year after the SAY Media sale and the rebrand — as the first time he felt isolated in the industry he had helped create: not geographic isolation, but "a feeling of not belonging anymore." His reflection captures a tension many early bloggers experienced: the sense of community that independent blogging created, and how that feeling changed once personal blogs became corporate properties.
Editorial Legacy and Influence
ReadWrite's legacy rests on its Web 2.0-era role: it was one of the defining technology blogs of the 2000s, alongside sites like TechCrunch and GigaOm, and it helped establish the personal technology blog as a serious journalistic form. Its analysis of internet industry news was widely read by decision-makers, its international channels extended its reach across Europe and Latin America, and its syndication by The New York Times demonstrated its editorial credibility.
The site's editors-in-chief over the years — Richard MacManus (2003–2012), Daniel Lyons (2012–2013), Owen Thomas (2013–2016), Trevor Curwin (2016–2017), Clayton Jacobs (2017–2018), and Brad Anderson (2018–present) — trace the publication's journey from independent blog to corporate property to its current form.
ReadWrite Today
Today, ReadWrite operates as an active technology news website covering artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, and emerging technology. Its two-decade history — from a Wellington home office to a globally syndicated technology institution to a repeatedly acquired media brand — mirrors the broader story of digital media itself: the rise of independent blogs, their consolidation into media companies, and the ongoing search for sustainable models for technology journalism.
