**History and Founding**:
– Founded in 1993 by Louis Rossetto, Jane Metcalfe, and Ian Charles Stewart.
– Initially backed by Charlie Jackson and Nicholas Negroponte.
– Debuted at Macworld conference in 1993.
– Won National Magazine Awards for General Excellence and Design in its first four years.
– Covered topics like interactive games, cell-phone hacking, digital effects, and military simulations in its early years.
**Influence and Recognition**:
– Strong editorial influence from Louis Rossetto.
– Recognized as the voice of emerging digital culture.
– Won National Magazine Awards for editorial and design.
– Acknowledged as Magazine of the Decade by Adweek in 2021.
– Popularized terms like ‘the long tail’ and ‘crowdsourcing’.
**Spin-offs, Expansion, and Contributors**:
– Launched spin-offs such as Wired UK, Wired Italia, and Wired Japan.
– Acquired by Condé Nast in 2006.
– Contributor Chris Anderson known for popularizing ‘the long tail’.
– Coined terms like ‘crowdsourcing’ and started Vaporware Awards tradition.
– Known for deep investigative reporting in recent years.
– Notable contributors include William Gibson and Neal Stephenson.
**Financial Ventures and Business Operations**:
– Wired News and Wired magazine had separate owners from 1998 to 2006.
– Wired News responsible for online content due to an agreement with Condé Nast.
– Condé Nast purchased Wired News in 2006 for $25 million.
– Attempted IPO in 1996 but faced challenges due to market conditions.
– Purchased by Advance Publications in 1998, assigned to Condé Nast.
**Expansion into Digital Platforms and Events**:
– Launched companion website HotWired and book publishing division HardWired.
– Introduced revolutionary ad campaigns from major tech and consumer advertisers.
– Wired.com, formerly Wired News and HotWired, launched in October 1994.
– Hosts technology blogs on security, business, new products, culture, and science.
– Organized events like NextFest and Wired 25 celebrating innovative products and technologies.