Otherweb

You know that feeling when you go to visit a favorite website, a tool you use regularly, and it's… different? That was me the other day. I navigated over to Otherweb.com, probably out of muscle memory, looking for a clean, no-nonsense news roundup. Instead of the familiar feed, I was met with a simple, stark white page and a message that stopped me in my tracks: Otherweb has been acquired.

Yep. Acquired by a company called SAI Technologies, with a promise that "Something amazing is coming."

Visit Otherweb

For those of us in the SEO and digital content world, an acquisition can mean one of two things: the death of a beloved tool, or its rebirth into something bigger and better. Right now, we're in that limbo. So, I thought it was the perfect time to pour one out for the old Otherweb, remember what made it special, and wildly speculate about what's coming next. Because what else are we bloggers for?

What Was Otherweb, Anyway?

If you're drawing a blank, don't worry. Otherweb wasn't exactly a household name like Google News or Apple News. It was more of an indie darling in the news aggregator space. Its main gig was to pull in news from all over the internet—from major outlets to smaller blogs—and present it in a personalized feed. You could follow topics like Technology, US Politics, Health, and so on. Standard stuff, right?

But Otherweb had a trick up its sleeve. A really clever one, actually. And it’s the main reason I’m a little sad to see it go, at least in its old form.

The Features That Made Otherweb Stand Out

In a sea of endless scrolling feeds, Otherweb tried to be a life raft. It wasn't just about what you read, but how you understood it at a glance.

The “Nutrition Label” for News

This was its killer feature. Every article summary came with a little “Nutrition Label.” Seriously, that’s what they called it. It was like a bullshit-o-meter for content. The label had two main scores: a Match Score, which told you how relevant the article was to your interests, and an Informativeness Score. That second one was pure gold.

The informativeness score supposedly measured how much factual data and substance an article contained, versus just fluff and opinion. A high score meant you were about to read something with some meat on its bones. A low score? Probably clickbait or a rehashed press release. In an era of content shock and AI-generated articles flooding the SERPs, having a quick filter like that was, frankly, revolutionary. It saved me so much time and helped me prioritize my reading. Was it perfectly accurate? Probably not. But it was a damn good starting point.

A Genuinely Personalized Feed

The personalization was also pretty solid. It learned from your reading habits, sure, but the ability to fine-tune your interests across broad categories meant you could create a news dashboard that felt uniquely yours. It wasn't just throwing stuff at a wall to see what stuck; it felt more deliberate. It was trying to solve the filter bubble problem by pulling from a wider range of sources than my typical social media feeds, which I appreciated. It introduced me to publications I'd never have found on my own.

More Than Just Articles

Otherweb was also branching out. It had a podcast and a newsletter, trying to become a multi-format information hub. This showed ambition. They weren’t content to just be a website; they wanted to be a part of your daily information diet, whether you were at your desk, in your inbox, or on your commute. I respect the hustle.

A Moment of Honesty: The Good and The Not-So-Good

No tool is perfect, right? And Otherweb had its quirks. The diverse news coverage and the clean mobile apps for both iOS and Android were huge wins. It made staying informed on the go a clean experience, free from the clutter that plagues other news apps.

However, it wasn't without its critics. Some people raised valid questions about potential bias in the news sources it chose to aggregate. How was the algorithm weighted? Was it truly neutral? The company was never super transparent about its content curation process. And that 'Nutrition Label,' as much as I loved it, was a bit of a black box. How exactly was 'informativeness' calculated? We never really got a clear answer. It was a feature you had to take on faith, and for some, that was a bridge too far.

So, What Happened? The SAI Technologies Acquisition

This brings us back to the big news. Otherweb was bought by SAI Technologies. My first question was, “Who?”

A quick search led me to SAI.TECH, and this is where the story gets… weird. SAI Technologies isn't a media company. They're not a software giant. They are, and I am not making this up, a company focused on liquid cooling and clean energy solutions for the… Bitcoin mining industry. An odd suitor for a news aggregator, to say the least.

Why would a crypto-adjacent energy company buy a news platform? Here are my running theories:

• The Tech: They might have been after the AI and machine learning algorithms that powered the 'Nutrition Label' and personalization features. That kind of content analysis tech could have applications far beyond news.
• The Audience: Perhaps they see an opportunity to build a niche media outlet focused on tech, crypto, and sustainable energy, and buying Otherweb gave them a launchpad and a pre-existing (if small) user base.
• A Simple Acqui-hire: Maybe they just wanted the talented team behind Otherweb for other projects. It happens all the time in Silicon Valley.

Whatever the reason, it's a fascinating pivot and makes the promise of "Something amazing is coming" all the more intriguing.

What Could the “New and Improved” Otherweb Look Like?

This is pure speculation, but it's fun to guess. Will they lean into their new parent company's niche? Will we see a new version of Otherweb focused heavily on blockchain news, financial markets, and green technology? It’s a definite possibility.

My hope is that they don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. I hope they keep the spirit of the 'Nutrition Label' alive. Imagine a version of that label that could rate the carbon footprint of a company mentioned in an article, or fact-check claims about crypto projects in real-time. Now that would be a tool for the modern age.

Or, maybe it'll just become a glorified PR machine for SAI.TECH. I'm hoping for the former. I'm an optimist at heart. Usually.

Frequently Asked Questions about Otherweb

A New Chapter Awaits

So, we bid farewell to the Otherweb we knew. It was a cool, innovative platform that genuinely tried to solve a real problem: cutting through the noise to find the news that matters. It had its flaws, but its heart was in the right place.

Now, we watch and wait. Will SAI Technologies build on that foundation, or will they take it in a completely different direction? I, for one, will be keeping that “Something amazing is coming” page bookmarked. You never know, the next big thing in news might just rise from the ashes of a bitcoin miner’s unexpected purchase. Stranger things have happened.

References and Sources

• SAI Technologies Official Website: https://sai.tech/
• Otherweb Acquisition Notice (Archival Link): https://otherweb.com/