Member-only story
Remembering Bubblews and Similar Others
The exciting frenzy turned to bitter apples.
Thinking back to 2014 I remember this exciting website that hit the scene called Bubblews. The theme was atrocious and the type of writing was mostly inane, yet the video game atmosphere and hopes of making cash drew many people into its playful bubble.
It didn’t take me long to catch on to the most exciting money-making endeavor for online writers, although it did seem like I was late to the party considering how rapidly everyone moved up in social status with every view, star (like), and comment being compensated for payment through PayPal.
Bubblews originally hit the scene in beta mode in 2012, which is why I probably felt a bit late coming to the scene in late 2014. They didn’t officially launch until July 16, 2014, according to Business Wire. The founders were 26-year-olds Arvind Dixit and Jason Zuccari who moved to San Francisco to launch the grand idea.
To be fair, this was during an early time with internet adoption, only a couple of years after smartphones became ubiquitous in America. While their UX/UI was amateurish looking, it was friendly enough for millions of people to ride the bubble. For instance, at the time of their start, they had 20 million monthly visitors from over 240 countries.
