Microsoft owned LinkedIn has sold its presentation sharing platform-SlideShare to Scribd, a popular e-book and audiobook subscription service that includes over one million titles.
Scribd started in 2007, and was initially a a site to host and share documents. Dubbed ‘The Youtube of Documents,” Scribd allowed anyone to self-publish on its site using its document reader that converts PDFs, Word documents, and PowerPoints into Web documents, that can later be shared on any website that allows embeds.
However, over time, much like the actual Youtube, the company started a subscription service that allowed users to avail a large catalogue of e-books. This led to a transition from the ‘Youtube of Documents’ to the ‘Netflix of e-books,’ a move that became very successful. Both businesses, known as the “user-generated side” and the “premium side” respectively, run parallel to each other, and have seen a lot of traffic over the years.
SlideShare, a platform that was started in 2006 and was acquired by LinkedIn in 2012, focuses on something similar, with more of a focus on PowerPoint presentations and business users. Scribd on the other hand, has been focusing at PDFs and Word docs and long-form written content, more on the general consumer side, CEO of Scribd-Trip Adler notes.
Thus, when Microsoft and LinkedIn approached Scribd for a possible acquisition of SlideShare, Adler saw huge potential in the company’s offerings, especially with its content library of 40 million presentations and an audience of 100 million unique monthly visitors.
The companies have not disclosed any financial details about the acquisition. However, Adler notes that Scribd won’t be taking on any new employees as part of the deal, and that the company’s existing personnel will assume command of SlideShare’s business.
“Nothing will change in the initial months,” Adler said. “We have a lot of experience with a product like this, both the technology stack and with users uploading content. We’re in a good position make SlideShare really successful.”
Thus, SlideShare wil be allowed to operate as a separate entity, with Adler hoping that it will still retain its connection with LinkedIn.
