Creates 25-Page Report Titled “Rebooting Media: The Digital Publishing Revolution for a Fully Social Web”

Seattle, WA – February 1, 2012 – Ben Elowitz, Co-Founder and CEO of Wetpaint, a next-generation media company, has been actively talking with influential people in the media industry and capturing insights on the future of media. The thought-provoking comments can be found in a new report titled “Rebooting Media: The Digital Publishing Revolution for a Fully Social Web” which is downloadable from the Wetpaint website here. The document contains the thinking of the following individuals:

• Jeff Berman, General Manager of Digital Media for the NFL and Buddy Media board member, talks about how Facebook is eclipsing search.
• Greg Clayman, Publisher of The Daily, explains why Facebook is taking sharing to a whole new level.
• Lewis DVorkin, Chief Product Officer at Forbes Media, discusses how he’s tearing down the walls that traditional media built.
• Erik Flannigan, EVP of Digital Media at MTV Networks Entertainment, shows how to build great relationships with social media fan bases.
• Jason Hirschhorn, Curator of Media ReDEFined, considers the element of surprise in social media.
• Wenda Harris Millard, President of Media Link LLC, advances the notion of a new personal recommendation engine on today’s Web.
• Theresia Gouw Ranzetta, a Partner at Accel Partners, zeroes in on the way that ecommerce is blazing a trail for social Web publishers.
• Anthony Soohoo, a digital media consultant and adviser, focuses on the way that the people-powered Web is changing innovation.

Wetpaint also convened several of the people listed above (including Berman, Clayman, DVorkin, Elowitz, Hirschhorn and Millard) as well as Jeff Bercovici of Forbes, Jessi Hempel of FORTUNE and Erick Schonfeld of TechCrunch for a roundtable conversation on January 17, 2012 to discuss the issues facing the media industry and what the future holds. Video highlights of that meeting will be available shortly on Elowitz’s blog, Digital Quarters.

“The media industry needs to move at warp speed to keep up with all the changes impacting their world,” said Elowitz. “We are all in this together and, by openly talking about the challenges and trends, we can help each other navigate the vast unexplored territory ahead of us.”

About Wetpaint

Wetpaint is a next-generation media company that uses its proprietary state-of-the-art technologies and expertise in social media to drive and monetize audiences. The company is creating a portfolio of best-in-class media properties; the first, Wetpaint Entertainment, delights 18-34 year-old women with in-depth coverage of their favorite TV shows, stars and fashion. Wetpaint Entertainment attracts more than six million unique visitors and 25 million page views monthly. It also has over a million Facebook fans. Founded by Internet pioneer Ben Elowitz, and with offices in Seattle and New York, Wetpaint is backed by Accel Partners, the investors behind Facebook and Groupon. 

For more information, media and bloggers only:
Gaby Adam
By the Sea Communications
(206) 931-5942
gaby@bytheseacommunications.com