BuzzFeed facts for kids
Logo used since 2019
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Formerly
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BuzzFeed Laboratories (2006–2016) |
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: BZFD |
| ISIN | ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=US12430A1025 US12430A1025] |
| Industry | Online media |
| Founded | November 1, 2006 |
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| Headquarters |
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U.S.
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Key people
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| Revenue |  US$437 million (2022) |
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Number of employees
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1,368 (December 2022) |
| Subsidiaries | HuffPost |
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American online media company. It focuses on news and entertainment for a digital audience. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was started in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III. They wanted to track what was popular and "viral" online. Kenneth Lerer, a co-founder of The Huffington Post, also helped start BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed first became famous for its online quizzes, "listicles" (articles made of lists), and pop culture stories. Over time, it grew into a big media and technology company. It now covers many topics like politics, DIY projects, animals, and business. BuzzFeed earns money by showing ads that look like regular articles. This makes people more likely to read them.
In 2011, BuzzFeed hired Ben Smith as its editor-in-chief. He helped the site grow to include longer news stories and investigative journalism. BuzzFeed News won important awards like the Pulitzer Prize. In 2023, BuzzFeed decided to close BuzzFeed News. It chose to focus its news efforts on The Huffington Post instead.
History of BuzzFeed
Before BuzzFeed, Jonah Peretti worked at a place called Eyebeam. There, he experimented with different kinds of online content. In 2006, while working at The Huffington Post, Peretti started BuzzFeed as a side project. He worked with his former supervisor, John Johnson.
At first, BuzzFeed didn't have writers. It used a special computer program to find stories that were becoming popular online. This program looked for links that were spreading quickly. Later, BuzzFeed started highlighting these popular links. They also hired people to help describe the content. In 2011, Ben Smith joined to create a news section. This was in addition to the many "listicles" the site was known for.
In 2016, BuzzFeed separated its content into two main parts. One was BuzzFeed News for news stories. The other was BuzzFeed Entertainment Group for fun content, including videos. By 2016, BuzzFeed had reporters in 12 countries. It also had versions of its website in many languages. By the end of 2017, BuzzFeed had about 1,700 employees around the world.
In 2019, BuzzFeed made some changes to its staff. In 2020, BuzzFeed made a deal with Universal Television. They planned to create TV shows based on BuzzFeed stories.
How BuzzFeed Got Money
BuzzFeed received its first big investment of $3.5 million in 2008. In 2011, BuzzFeed's income tripled compared to the year before. This was because of its many social media campaigns. In 2012, BuzzFeed announced it had received $15.5 million more in funding. This money helped the site create more content. By 2013, BuzzFeed was making a profit.
In 2014, BuzzFeed's income went over $100 million. In August 2014, BuzzFeed received another $50 million investment. This made the company's value around $850 million. BuzzFeed earns money from ads that look like regular articles. It also uses social media like Facebook to show ads.
In 2015, NBCUniversal invested $200 million in BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed planned to hire more journalists for investigative reporting. They also wanted to open offices in other countries. NBCUniversal invested another $200 million in 2016. The two companies worked together on many projects.
In 2020, BuzzFeed made some changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They reduced employee salaries for a time. In 2021, BuzzFeed was valued at $1.5 billion. It planned to become a public company and buy Complex Networks.
Buying Other Companies and Stock
BuzzFeed bought its first company, Kingfish Labs, in 2012. This company helped with Facebook ads. In 2014, BuzzFeed bought Torando Labs. This became BuzzFeed's first data-engineering team.
In 2020, BuzzFeed announced it would buy HuffPost. This made Verizon Media a small owner in BuzzFeed. In 2021, BuzzFeed became a public company. Its shares were first sold on the Nasdaq stock market. The share price later went down. In 2024, BuzzFeed made a change to its stock. This helped its share price go back up.
What BuzzFeed Makes
BuzzFeed creates new content every day. This includes work from its own reporters, guest writers, and cartoon artists. Popular things on the website are lists, videos, and quizzes. Over time, BuzzFeed also started making traditional news stories.
News Stories
BuzzFeed's news section started in December 2011. Ben Smith was the editor-in-chief. In 2013, Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Schoofs joined. He led the investigative reporting team. By 2016, BuzzFeed had 20 investigative journalists. As mentioned, the BuzzFeed News division closed in April 2023.
Videos
BuzzFeed Video is a popular YouTube channel. It creates original videos. Its production team is in Los Angeles. Since 2012, BuzzFeed Video has made many video series. One popular series is "The Try Guys". In 2014, BuzzFeed announced a new part of the company called BuzzFeed Motion Pictures. This group might even make full-length movies. By 2021, BuzzFeed Video's YouTube channel had over 17.4 billion views. It also had more than 20.3 million subscribers.
Podcasts
BuzzFeed started making its own podcasts in 2015. Some podcasts were Another Round and Internet Explorer. In 2018, BuzzFeed closed its podcast department. It stopped most of its podcasts.
- Former podcasts
- Another Round
- Internet Explorer
- The News
- See Something, Say Something
- Thirst Aid Kit
- Reporting To You
- Rerun
- The Tell Show
- Women of the Hour
Community Content
In 2013, BuzzFeed launched its "Community" section. This allowed users to submit their own content. Users could publish one post per day at first. They could increase this by gaining "Cat Power." This was a way to measure their rank on the site. In 2017, user-generated content reached 100 million views.
Tasty
Tasty is BuzzFeed's video series about comfort food. It is very popular on Facebook, with 100 million followers by 2019. Tasty has more views than BuzzFeed's main food website. The channel has several spin-off shows. These include "Tasty Junior" for kids and "Tasty Happy Hour" for drinks. Tasty has also released its own cookbook.
The company also has international versions of Tasty. Tasty sells its own kitchen tools too. These include spatulas and mixing bowls. They are sold in stores like Walmart. Tasty also sells a smart cooking device called "One Top." They also offer "Tasty Kits" with ingredients for cooking at home.
Worth It
Since 2016, Tasty has sponsored a show called Worth It. It stars Steven Lim, Andrew Ilnyckyj, and Adam Bianchi. In each episode, they visit three different food places. These places have very different prices for the same type of food. Steven Lim also stars in "Worth It – Lifestyle" videos. These videos compare different items or experiences at various price points. Examples include plane seats or hotel rooms. Lim left BuzzFeed in 2019 to start his own company.
BuzzFeed Unsolved
BuzzFeed Unsolved was a very successful web series on BuzzFeed Multiplayer. Ryan Bergara created the show. He and Shane Madej host it. The show looks at famous unsolved mysteries from history. They present the mysteries and theories in a funny way. Sometimes, they visit the places involved in the mystery. Many episodes focus on supernatural or paranormal topics. They often go ghost hunting during their investigations. In 2019, Bergara and Madej started their own company, Watcher Entertainment. But they kept making BuzzFeed Unsolved with BuzzFeed until 2021. The show's new version is called Ghost Files.
The Try Guys
The Try Guys are a group of friends. They are Eugene Lee Yang, Zach Kornfeld, Keith Habersberger, and formerly Ned Fulmer. They put themselves in different situations and record what happens. In 2018, the four left BuzzFeed. They started their own independent channel, also called "The Try Guys".
Night In/Night Out
Night In/Night Out was a series hosted by Ned and Ariel Fulmer. This show featured the couple on two different dates. One date was at home with a homemade meal. The other was at a restaurant. Each episode focused on one type of meal, like baked salmon. At the end, Ned and Ariel decided which meal they liked better. The couple left BuzzFeed in 2018, and the series ended.
Short Animated Videos
Around 2017, BuzzFeed started Animation Lab. This group focuses on short animated videos. These videos are posted on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The studio has created many projects. Four of them became very popular: Weird Helga, The Good Advice Cupcake, The Land of Boggs, and Chikn Nuggit. By 2021, these four had over 17 million followers combined.
Famous Stories
"The dress"
In February 2015, a BuzzFeed post caused a big debate. It was about the color of a dress. The post got more than 28 million views in one day. This set a record for the most people looking at a BuzzFeed post at the same time. People argued if the dress was blue and black or white and gold.
Watermelon Stunt
On April 8, 2016, two BuzzFeed interns did a live video on Facebook. They wrapped rubber bands around a watermelon one by one. Eventually, the pressure made the watermelon explode. This video was very popular. It was seen as part of Facebook's plan to use more live video.
Awards and Recognition
In 2017, BuzzFeed won Webby Awards for Best News App. It also won for Best Interview/Talk Show for Another Round.
In 2018, staff from BuzzFeed News were finalists for a Pulitzer Prize. This was for their reporting on targeted killings. BuzzFeed later won a Pulitzer Prize in 2021. This was for an investigative series about certain camps in China.
See also
In Spanish: BuzzFeed para niños
- Mashable
- Mic
- The Take
- Upworthy
- Vice Media
- Vox Media
