Started as a blog by a 19-year-old, but now a global media and entertainment company that has grossed over 45 million monthly unique stories, Mashable is considered one of the main resources for the connected generation through social media.
In July 2005, social media tycoon Pete Cashmore created Mashable from his Scotland home as his personal blog. The website is now one of the largest independent news sources dedicated to covering digital culture, social media, world news, business, entertainment and technology.
Since Cashmore started the website, it has gained 28 million social media followers and garners 7.5 million shares a month, according to Mashable.
Viewers first visiting Mashable will be bombarded by news stories. The main page gives readers a quick way to explore what’s new, what’s rising and what’s hot on that day. Examples of these news stories are political posts about the election, lots of tech how-to’s, reviews of products like the new MacBook and loads of funny social media posts.
The website is also appealing to look at for long periods of time. Viewers will find themselves clicking on story after story because the information is interesting and easy to read.
Each article also includes many images, and the site is social media friendly as well. Every article has the option to share it on a social media of choice and a number letting the reader know how many shares the article has already received.
Although Cashmore created an amazing website, it does have some critics. For example, viewers will notice the site is very advertisement heavy. The ads can get monotonous because they are so prominent.
Navigating Mashable could also be trying for some because under each heading there are many options, perhaps too many.
Mashable can even seem biased at times because its writers and editors always follow trends. This means that right now they are uploading a lot of political information, and some articles seem one-sided rather than politically neutral.
Even with these few disadvantages, Mashable is still a great website. It offers content that is easily shareable through social media, covers a wide range of topics and has even expanded into Snapchat, which makes it even easier to get interesting content.