Along with the name change, ReadWrite is getting a new HTML5 “tablet-first” design that’s heavy on the graphics and seems modeled on The Verge‘s design.

Lyons replaces Richard MacManus, the founder of the site and its former EIC, who recently left the company to work on a book. Dan Frommer, who writes the tech blog SplatF, was hired as editor-at-large when Say Media acquired the company.

Lyons has recently been a lightning rod for criticism from the Apple community over what it considers to be troll posts, but in his new role at ReadWrite it seems that he will be encouraged to write and publish opinionated pieces. In a blog post announcing the changes, Lyons writes, “We want to turn our writers loose and let them write from the heart, in ways that are more personal, passionate, provocative and fun than ever before.”

The round was led by new investors New Enterprise Associates, Shea Ventures and Correlation Ventures and included participation from previous investors.

“The intersection of Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley is really where we see the future of media and we are well-positioned to lead the publishing industry into a digital world,” Say CEO Matt Sanchez said in a statement.

Last week, Say appointed Time magazine publisher Kim Kelleher as its new president. She will start in September. The company now owns six properties and has exclusive partnerships with 13 others, including Fashionista and food52. Its ad network includes 500 sites and the company says it reaches a global audience of 400 million.

This is technically Say’s first round of funding. Its predecessor entities, ad network VideoEgg and blog platform Six Apart, each raised several rounds as separate companies, totaling $79 million.

In either case, the phantom ads amount to a frightful waste for ad buyers and a problem for publishers who still face skepticism about the efficacy of online ads.

A New Era of Online Ads

Now, new ad technology is promising to eliminate ghost ads while also giving publishers new tools to assign premium or bargain prices to ads on different parts of a webpage.

Both comScore and SAY Media say they’ve solved the phantom ad menace with kits that let advertisers use dashboards to confirm the ads they buy are seen and not just served.

“Advertisers will know what’s rendered and what’s not,” says Matt Sanchez of SAY Media, whose partner sites include popular tech destinations like TechDirt and ReadWriteWeb. He says the technology produces click through rates three to four times higher than the industry standard.

The upshot of the new ad metrics should be a drop in overall ad inventory and an increase in CPM (cost per thousand impressions) because advertisers can now have more confidence about about what they’re buying.

The new tools, which both companies have unveiled in the last few weeks, may also juice the market for ads based on views alone.

According to Forbes’ Chief Insight Officer, Bruce Rogers, many brands responded to the financial crisis by retrenching to ads based on “transactional activities” — in other words, they’ll pay for ads that are clicked but not having their ads simply appear on a site.

Rogers hopes that Forbes’ decision to use comScore’s new tool, called “Validated Campaign Essentials,” will lead more ad buyers to build brand awareness by paying for pure impressions.

‘Gold below the Fold’

New ad verification techniques are likely to change not only ad buyers’ calculations but those of publishers as well.

According to Andrew Lipsman of comScore, content companies may be undervaluing some of their “below the fold” inventory. In practice, this means they’re selling down-the-page ads at a clearance even when those ads may be getting some of the best exposure on their site.

“There’s gold below the fold,” says Lipsman, who claims the new technology will allow publishers to identify and properly price their best ad space.

SAY Media’s Sanchez argues that the technology will also force publishers to remake their page layouts, and optimize their design to accommodate fewer and more effective ads.

“There’s too many ads on a page. It’s time to pull of the clutter.”

Build it — but will anyone come?

The new tools seem like a win-win for both ad buyers and publishers, and could end much of the black magic that many people associate with online ad buying.

But that doesn’t mean people will use them.

“For advertisers, this should be like ‘sound the flight of the angels.’ Who would say no? But I’ve been somewhat surprised that the impact and uptake wasn’t immediate,” said Forbes’ Bruce Rogers.

Rather than rushing to embrace the product, he says, the industry has so far responded with “inertia.”

Rogers thinks this is understandable given supply chains and entrenched habits. He hopes that the site of the new ad tracking dashboards will soon lead more advertisers to jump on board.

“It’s going to happen.”

Frommer will continue to write SplatF, he says.

@BradMcCarty Don’t worry, SplatF isn’t going anywhere.

— Dan Frommer (@fromedome) December 14, 2011

SAY reportedly paid $5 million for ReadWriteWeb, which has annual revenues of around $1.2 million and had 766,000 unique U.S. visitors in November, according to comScore (NSDQ: SCOR). ReadWriteWeb hasn’t taken any venture funding.

The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) will no longer syndicate ReadWriteWeb content, SAY Media spokeswoman Kristin Mitchell told me. “In fact, syndication on the NYT ended recently for all blogs,” she said.

SAY Media was created last year when online ad network VideoEgg acquired blog network Six Apart.

Release:

SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb

SAN FRANCISCO – Dec. 14, 2011 – SAY Media today announced it has acquired ReadWriteWeb, one of the most popular and influential technology publications in the world, to anchor itsgrowing Technology channel that reaches more than 75 million global consumers each month. Founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus will continue to lead ReadWriteWeb as part of SAY Media’s rapidly expanding editorial team. In addition to ReadWriteWeb’s current staff, new star writers will contribute to the renowned technology publication, starting with Dan Frommer, founder andeditor-in-chief of SplatF, who will serve as editor-at-large.

“ReadWriteWeb has established itself as a leading news and analysis source for the tech community, reaching high-level business influencers and decision makers. Its editorial team is frequently sourced and considered to be one of the best in the business,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. “As we looked to acquire a property that would further strengthen our technology channel, ReadWriteWebnaturally rose to the top of the list. Richard and his team are extremely passionate about the content they create and have worked very hard to develop a deeply engaged and informed community of tech enthusiasts.”

As part of SAY Media’s portfolio of owned and operated media properties,ReadWriteWeb will take advantage of the company’s proprietary technology platform, experienced ad sales team, and world-class design expertise to scale its business to reach more technology enthusiasts and decision-makers. Under SAY’s guidance, the site will continue to evolve through design and user experience innovations that align with SAY’s Clean Campaign vision, and also expand its editorial scope to appeal to a wider array of technology consumers.

“We’re incredibly excited to be joining SAY Media and believe this partnership will help us better serve our community of readers,” said Richard MacManus, founder and editor-in-chief, ReadWriteWeb. “With SAY’s technology and services we’ll be able to scale ReadWriteWeb in ways previously unavailable to us. We’ll now be able to expand our editorial scope into relevant areas of interest and redesign the site to create a more premium experience for both our readers and advertisers.”

This acquisition will strengthen SAY’s Tech channel offering by giving brands an assortment of custom advertising opportunities that leverage the influence and authority of voices like Richard MacManus and Dan Frommer and the reach of SAY’s broader network of technology properties to connect brands with engaged audiences. Current sites in SAY Media’s Tech channel include: Android and Me, Gear Patrol, gdgt, SplatF, TechDirt and more.

“ReadWriteWeb covers the tech industry with a high level of integrity and intellectual curiosity. I can’t wait to add my voice to the site, as I report on technology trends around the world,” said Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief, SplatF and editor-at-large, ReadWriteWeb.

As SAY continues on its path to become the undisputed home of passion-based, vertical media properties, the company will continue to partner with, build and acquire sites that create quality content with a point-of-view and maintainvibrant, engaged communities.

Say Media was formed last fall when Videoegg acquired blog network Six Apart. VideoEgg has raised about $30 million in the past five years from investors such as WPP Digital and Focus Ventures, and is planning to raise another round in the next three-to-five months, Young said, adding that Say Media is cash flow positive and has revenues of over $100 million.

“We’re investing back in the company, but we plan to do a big round to support more acquisitions,” Young said. “This is the first of many.”

The addition of Dogster, which includes a site of the same name and another called Catster, is the start of what Say Media intends as a lifestyle network around consumers “passions,” such as pets. Advertisers are naturally looking for communities they can reach and Say Media believes it can connect them.

In addition to pets, the women’s lifestyle category is an obvious one to get into, though networks like Glam Media, Federated Media, Martha Stewart Living, and iVillage and many other established media companies have been targeting female-focused content for some time. Still, there’s always room on the internet, and Say Media is already working with former magazine editor and current satellite radio talk show host Jane Pratt on building a women’s vertical around her.

Dogster had already been one of the sites in Six Apart’s network, plus like Say Media, it’s from San Francisco. There was an existing relationship between the two already. In terms of the next acquisitions, Young said that the company would just as likely be looking outside its site network as it would consider those within.