IT began as a project he could run from his bedroom at his parents' Banchory home, and grew into a business empire spanning the globe.

But now the digital media website run by Scot Pete Cashmore may have seen its high point come and go after it emerged that it has cut part of its news staff amid a move to return to its roots.

Mr Cashmore, 30, launched his website Mashable as a blog commenting on the latest devices and upcoming technology, and steered it to become a digital media site with an audience in the tens of millions.

Over the years,however, the site has evolved and now covers issues such as climate change, business, culture and international news with offices in New York and Sydney, earning its founder a fortune estimated at £60m.

However, Mr Cashmore has now announced sweeping changes at the top of his firm, which will turn its back on world and political news and focus more on technology and breaking events.

Read more: Scots entrepreneur stands to gain windfall from potential Mashable sale

A memo to staff from the internet entrepreneur detailed the specifics of the job cuts, with both executive editor, Jim Roberts, and chief revenue officer, Seth Rogin, stepping down.

Mr Cashmore said he was making an effort to “move away from covering world news and politics as stand-alone channels" to spend more time “focusing on our core coverage - technology, web culture, science, social media, entertainment, business and lifestyle, all told through the digital lens.

The Herald:

"We’ll also develop our real-time news coverage, keeping our audience up to date on breaking news and cultural trends being discussed on social networks.”

Mashable recently received $15 million in funding, but is facing stiff competition in the crowded marketplace for online news, where people's favourite sites change from day to day.

The job cuts have already come into effect, with Nadja Oertelt, a senior producer at the company, posting on Twitter, “I just got a call on a field shoot that I’m fired along with half the @mashable editorial staff.”

Mr Cashmore, who is now based in New York and recently became engaged to the lifestyle blogger Kimmy Huynh, was previously been named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.

Read more: Scots founder of news site Mashable unveils plans for "viral television"

He famously launched his website as a teenager while recovering from complications following surgery, and timed his work schedule so that he’d hit prime reading hours for the American market by sleeping during the day.

His parents were unaware of the success of his blog until a newspaper reporter doorstepped them came knocking looking for the man behind Mashable.

The change of direction at the website comes as it was claimed that another popular online media site had cut its profit forecasts in half.

The Herald:

The Financial Times has reported BuzzFeed had cut its 2016 revenue goal from to $250 million from $500 million, sending shockwaves through the industry.

However, the company's chairmanKen Lerer disputed the report, saying: “Anyone who thinks that this isn’t a terrific time to be in digital content is dead wrong. It’s a fantastic time.”

Read more: Internet boss surfs crest of a wave as he makes US most influential list

Dr Greg Singh, Lecturer in Communications, Media and Culture at the University of Stirling, said that it was not unusual to see the fortunes of once popular websites rise and fall quickly.

He said: "What we're seeing is the overall instability of these websites, but there's no single reason why they are having to restructure.

"Aggregate sites like Mashable, which present content from across the web, tend to have their time in the sun and then fade away as new favourites come along, so it's not unexpected.

"There is also a lot of competition from some very big players in the industry who weren't making such an impact five years ago. Sites like Huffington Post, which has grown rapidly from a small blog site one of the giants on the scene."

On Monday, new Mashable's new Chief Content Officer Greg Gittrich insisted that the site would still cover news.

He said: "The notable change is that we’ve decided not to focus on general interest news and broad coverage of the world.

"We’ll cover big breaking news and important issues through the lens of our core sections, using our expertise in those areas to find unique angles, fascinating characters, and exclusive information.

"We’ll also use our real-time news team to report on significant stories unfolding across social media. We’re expanding the real-time team and adding video and visual storytelling capabilities across all core areas of coverage."