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'''Friendster''' is a social gaming site that is based in [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]]. The company now operates mainly from three Asian countries; namely, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. It was previously known as a [[social networking]] [[website]].<ref name="VentureBeat">Eric Eldon, August 4, 2008. "[http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/04/friendster-raises-20-million-nabs-a-googler-to-be-ceo/ Friendster raises $20 million, nabs a Googler to be CEO]" VentureBeat. Retrieved December 4, 2008.</ref><ref name="NYT">Gary Rivlin, October 15, 2006. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend.html?_r=1 Wallflower at the Web Party]." New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2008.</ref> Before the site was redesigned, the service allowed users to contact other members, maintain those contacts, and share online content and media with those contacts.<ref name="ataglance">[http://images.friendster.com/images/Friendster_At_A_Glance_September_2008.pdf Friendster at a Glance document]</ref> The website was also used for dating and discovering new events, bands, and hobbies. Users could share videos, photos, messages and comments with other members via their profile and their network.<ref name="ataglance" /> It was considered one of the original and even the "grandaddy" of social networks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/05/20/may-the-month-of-internet-rapture/ |title=May: Month of the Internet Rapture - TNW Social Media |publisher=Thenextweb.com |date=2011-05-20 |accessdate=2011-10-22}}</ref> The service became popular in [[Southeast Asia]] and is a major site in that region of the world.<ref>{{cite news|author=LING WOO LIU |url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1707760,00.html |title=Friendster Moves to Asia |publisher=TIME |date=2008-01-29 |accessdate=2011-10-22}}</ref>
'''Friendster''' is a social gaming site that is based in [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]]. The company now operates mainly from three Asian countries; namely, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. It was previously known as a [[social networking]] [[website]].<ref name="VentureBeat">Eric Eldon, August 4, 2008. "[http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/04/friendster-raises-20-million-nabs-a-googler-to-be-ceo/ Friendster raises $20 million, nabs a Googler to be CEO]" VentureBeat. Retrieved December 4, 2008.</ref><ref name="NYT">Gary Rivlin, October 15, 2006. "[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/15/business/yourmoney/15friend.html?_r=1 Wallflower at the Web Party]." New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2008.</ref> Before the site was redesigned, the service allowed users to contact other members, maintain those contacts, and share online content and media with those contacts.<ref name="ataglance">[http://images.friendster.com/images/Friendster_At_A_Glance_September_2008.pdf Friendster at a Glance document]</ref> The website was also used for dating and discovering new events, bands, and hobbies. Users could share videos, photos, messages and comments with other members via their profile and their network.<ref name="ataglance" /> It was considered one of the original and even the "grandaddy" of social networks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thenextweb.com/socialmedia/2011/05/20/may-the-month-of-internet-rapture/ |title=May: Month of the Internet Rapture - TNW Social Media |publisher=Thenextweb.com |date=2011-05-20 |accessdate=2011-10-22}}</ref> The service became popular in [[Southeast Asia]] and is a major site in that region of the world.<ref>{{cite news|author=LING WOO LIU |url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1707760,00.html |title=Friendster Moves to Asia |publisher=TIME |date=2008-01-29 |accessdate=2011-10-22}}</ref>


Since the relaunch of Friendster as a social gaming platform in June 2011, the number of registered users has reached over 115 million. Over 90% of Friendster's traffic came from [[Asia]]. In Asia, as of 2008, Friendster had more monthly unique visitors than any other social network.<ref name="comscore">ComScore Press Release, June 30, 2008. "[http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2295 India and China Propel Internet Audience Growth in Asia-Pacific Region, According to comScore]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="TIME">Ling Woo Liu, January 29, 2008. "[http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1707760,00.html/ Friendster Moves to Asia]", TIME. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref><ref name = eight>Press Release, October 21, 2008. "[http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr48 Friendster is the #1 Social Network for Adults and Youth in Malaysia]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="nine">Press Release, October 21, 2008. "[http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr47 Friendster is the #1 Social Network for Adults and Youth in Singapore]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref> The top 10 countries accessing Friendster, according to [[Alexa Internet|Alexa]], as of May 7, 2009 are the [[Philippines]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Thailand]], [[Pakistan]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Sudan]], [[South Korea]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[India]].<ref name="alex">{{cite web|url=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/friendster.com |title=Friendster.com Site Info |publisher=Alexa.com |date= |accessdate=2011-11-02}}</ref>
Since the relaunch of Friendster as a social gaming platform in June 2011, the number of registered users has reached over 115 million. Over 90% of Friendster's traffic came from [[Asia]]. In Asia, as of 2008, Friendster had more monthly unique visitors than any other social network.<ref name="comscore">ComScore Press Release, June 30, 2008. "[http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=2295 India and China Propel Internet Audience Growth in Asia-Pacific Region, According to comScore]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="TIME">Ling Woo Liu, January 29, 2008. "[http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1707760,00.html/ Friendster Moves to Asia]", TIME. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref><ref name = eight>Press Release, October 21, 2008. "[http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr48 Friendster is the #1 Social Network for Adults and Youth in Malaysia]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref><ref name="nine">Press Release, October 21, 2008. "[http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr47 Friendster is the #1 Social Network for Adults and Youth in Singapore]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref> The top 10 countries accessing Friendster, according to [[Alexa Internet|Alexa]], as of May 7, 2009 are the [[Philippines]], [[Indonesia]], [[Malaysia]], [[Singapore]], [[Thailand]], [[Pakistan]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Sudan]], [[South Korea]], [[Bangladesh]] and [[India]].<ref name="alex">{{cite web|url=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/friendster.com |title=Friendster.com Site Info |publisher=Alexa.com |date= |accessdate=2011-11-02}}</ref> Today Friendster is still notably popular in Indonesia and the Philippines.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything |last=Saylor |first=Michael |year=2012 |publisher=Perseus Books/Vanguard Press |isbn=978-1593157203 |page=129 |pages=304}}</ref>


==History==
==History==

Revision as of 17:44, 8 June 2012

Friendster, Inc.
Screenshot of Friendster's main page, updated in July 2011
Type of businessPrivate
Type of site
Social Gaming
Available inEnglish, Filipino, Malay, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish
Founded2002
Headquarters
Kuala Lumpur
,
Malaysia
OwnerMOL Global
Key people
  • Ganesh Kumar Bangah, Chief Executive Officer
URLwww.friendster.com
AdvertisingBanner ads, Contextual ads, Sponsorships
RegistrationYes
Users8.2 million (June 2010)[1]
LaunchedMarch 22, 2002
Current statusactive

Friendster is a social gaming site that is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company now operates mainly from three Asian countries; namely, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. It was previously known as a social networking website.[3][4] Before the site was redesigned, the service allowed users to contact other members, maintain those contacts, and share online content and media with those contacts.[5] The website was also used for dating and discovering new events, bands, and hobbies. Users could share videos, photos, messages and comments with other members via their profile and their network.[5] It was considered one of the original and even the "grandaddy" of social networks.[6] The service became popular in Southeast Asia and is a major site in that region of the world.[7]

Since the relaunch of Friendster as a social gaming platform in June 2011, the number of registered users has reached over 115 million. Over 90% of Friendster's traffic came from Asia. In Asia, as of 2008, Friendster had more monthly unique visitors than any other social network.[8][9][10][11] The top 10 countries accessing Friendster, according to Alexa, as of May 7, 2009 are the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, South Korea, Bangladesh and India.[12] Today Friendster is still notably popular in Indonesia and the Philippines.[13]

History

Friendster was founded by computer programmer Jonathan Abrams in 2002 before the creation, launch and adoption of MySpace (2003), Facebook (2004), and others.[14] Friendster was one of the first social networking sites to attain over 1 million members, although it was preceded by several other smaller social networking sites such as SixDegrees.com (1997). The name Friendster is a portmanteau of "friend" and Napster. Napster at the time was a controversial peer-to-peer file sharing Internet service that was launched in 1999; by 2000, "Napster" was practically a household word, thanks to several high-profile lawsuits filed against it that year. The old Friendster site was founded in Mountain View, California by Jonathan Abrams in 2002 and was privately owned. Friendster is based on the Circle of Friends (social network) technique for networking individuals in virtual communities and demonstrates the small world phenomenon. Friendster was considered the top online social network service until around April 2004 when it was overtaken by MySpace in terms of page views, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.

Friendster.com went live in 2002 and was quickly adopted by three million users within the first few months.[4] Publications including Time, Esquire, Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly, US Weekly and Spin wrote about Friendster's success and the founder appeared on magazine covers and late-night talk shows.[4] Friendster's rapid success inspired a generation of niche social networking websites including Dogster and Elfster.[15][16]

Friendster had also received competition from all-in-one sites such as Windows Live Spaces, Yahoo! 360, and Facebook. Google offered $30,000,000 to buy out Friendster in 2003, but the offer was turned down.[17] Friendster was then funded by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Benchmark Capital in October 2003 with a reported valuation of $53 million. Friendster's decision to stay private instead of selling to Google in 2003 is considered one of the biggest blunders of Silicon Valley, the Associated Press claims.[18] In April 2004, John Abrams was removed as CEO and Tim Koogle took over as interim CEO. Koogle previously served as President and CEO at Yahoo!. Koogle was later replaced by Scott Sassa in June 2004. Sassa left in May 2005 and was replaced by Taek Kwon. Taek Kwon was then succeeded by Kent Lindstrom, following a recapitalization by Kleiner and Benchmark that valued Friendster at less than one-twentieth its 2003 valuation.

As of 2008 Friendster had a membership base of more than 115 million registered users and continued to grow in Asia.[10][11][14] According to Alexa, the site has suffered an exponential decline in traffic in America since 2009. From a peak 40 ranking it reached 800 in November 2010. Most people have since attributed this decline to the rise of Facebook, a rival social networking site. In August 2008, Friendster hired ex-Google executive Richard Kimber as the CEO.[19][20][21] Kimber focused on Friendster's expansion in Asia.[22]

On December 9, 2009, it was announced that Friendster was acquired for US$26.4 million by MOL Global,[23] one of Asia's biggest Internet companies. MOL Global is funded by one of Malaysia's successful businessmen, Tan Sri Vincent Tan, Chairman and Chief Executive of Berjaya Corporation Berhad.[24]

In June 2011, the company repositioned itself into a social gaming site and discontinued user social network accounts.[25] But Friendster accounts will not be deleted and users can still log in using their existing e-mail login and password. They also stated that contact list (or friendlist) will be preserved along with user's basic information. Friendster said that in the new and improved website, the focus will be on pure "entertainment and fun", and aims not to compete with, but rather to complement Facebook.[26]

Financial history

The company was originally founded in 2002 with a $12 million investment by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, and private investors.[4][27]

In 2003, Friendster management received a $30 million buyout offer from Google, which they declined.[4]

Friendster received another $3 million in funding in February 2006 from Klein-er Perkins Caufield & Byers and Benchmark Capital.[28] In August 2006, Friendster also received $10 million in funding in a round led by DAG Ventures,[28] and Friendster announced in August 2008 that it had raised an additional $20 million in funding in a round led by IDG Ventures.[3][29] Prior to its acquisition by MOL Global, Friendster was backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, IDG Ventures, and individual investors.

Awards and recognitions

  • In July 2006, Friendster was awarded Key Social Networking Technology Patent.[30]
  • In 2007, Friendster was selected by AlwaysOn Media as Top 100 Private Company Award Winner.[31]
  • In April 2008, Friendster became a Webware 100 winner.[32]
  • In 2009, the site was the subject of a satirical portrayal by The Onion News Network of the site's discovery as an archaeological relic, untouched since 2005.[33][34][35]
  • In May 2010, Friendster was recognized as one of the "Hottest Silicon Valley Companies" by Lead411.[36]

Services

In November 2009, Friendster announced a global partnership with MOL AccessPortal Berhad (MOL), a leading payments provider leveraging a network of over 600,000 physical and virtual payment channels worldwide, to power the Friendster Wallet and a payments platform enabling micro-spending for over 115 million registered users on Friendster. The Friendster Wallet was designed to support a variety of payment methods including pre-paid cards, mobile payments, online payments and credit card payments.

Friendster also partners in with content partners such as game developers and publishers which provides monetization solutions on the Friendster platform leveraging on MOL's payment channels and Friendster's large userbase.

Sub-brands

Friendster iCafe - Cybercafe management system integrating cybercafe's computers, customers, accountings and billing needs into one thus enabling cybercafe owner to manage the cybercafes with convenience.

Friendster hotspots - Providers retail outlets with a free Wifi infrastructure for their consumers funded by advertising. It offers customers free high speed internet connection at popular retail outlets and gives advertisers wide exposure to affluent, well-educated consumers.

Languages

Available languages include English, Filipino, Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese (both Traditional and Simplified), Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.[5] Until September 2007, Friendster was only available in English. 10 new languages were added from 2007 up to January 2009, with Filipino being the newest language to be included.[37] Users can also enter content on Friendster in any language.

Friendster launched all language support on a single domain - www.friendster.com. Friendster is the first global online social network to support Asian languages and others on a single domain so that users from around the world can talk to each other.[38]

Development

Friendster has been an open site since August 2006 when it first began allowing widgets and content to be embedded in user profile pages through its developer program.[39] Roughly 39 percent of Friendster's users have widgets on their profile.[39]

Friendster gives software developers access to APIs that utilize content and data within the Friendster network to build and deploy customizable applications on and off Friendster. Friendster's Developer Program is an open, non-proprietary platform with an open revenue model.[39][40]

Friendster was the first social network to support both the OpenSocial and the Facebook Platform.[40]

In December 2009, Friendster relaunched its website with a new interface.[41]

Patents

Friendster holds some fundamental online social networking patents:[42][43]

In August 2010, Facebook confirmed that it had acquired 18 patents from Friendster.[44]

Site transformation

In June 2011, Friendster shifted from social networking site to a social entertainment site which focus on gaming and entertainment. The accounts are unchanged and still existing. However, all the photos, messages, comments, testimonials, shoutouts, blogs, forums and groups that the users may have had in the past may no longer be part of their Friendster account.[45] An exporting tool is provided to back up the information of the user account. This tool has an ability to export photos to Flickr and Multiply.

Deadline given to users to export their photos was extended to 27 June 2011. Photos which are not exported by the deadline have been removed and not retrievable.[46] This has enraged many users, who posted hate messages on the official support community.[1]

In the two months after the new Friendster has relaunched, Friendster has attracted more than half a million new users and now includes over 40 premium games. Some of the result of the Frienster relaunch:

  • Daily and Monthly Active Users have increased by 50 percent.
  • More than 90 percent of new users came from Asia.
  • There are 40 premium games and hundreds of free-games-and-applications with nearly half of the new users play between 1 to 5 games in a month. 30 percent of them spend more than 45 min a day. 10 percent of them have bought virtual credits in Friendster.[47]

References

  1. ^ "DoubleClick Ad Planner". Google.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  2. ^ "Friendster.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  3. ^ a b Eric Eldon, August 4, 2008. "Friendster raises $20 million, nabs a Googler to be CEO" VentureBeat. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  4. ^ a b c d e Gary Rivlin, October 15, 2006. "Wallflower at the Web Party." New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Friendster at a Glance document
  6. ^ "May: Month of the Internet Rapture - TNW Social Media". Thenextweb.com. 2011-05-20. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  7. ^ LING WOO LIU (2008-01-29). "Friendster Moves to Asia". TIME. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  8. ^ ComScore Press Release, June 30, 2008. "India and China Propel Internet Audience Growth in Asia-Pacific Region, According to comScore", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  9. ^ Ling Woo Liu, January 29, 2008. "Friendster Moves to Asia", TIME. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  10. ^ a b Press Release, October 21, 2008. "Friendster is the #1 Social Network for Adults and Youth in Malaysia[dead link]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  11. ^ a b Press Release, October 21, 2008. "Friendster is the #1 Social Network for Adults and Youth in Singapore[dead link]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  12. ^ "Friendster.com Site Info". Alexa.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  13. ^ Saylor, Michael (2012). The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Perseus Books/Vanguard Press. p. 129. ISBN 978-1593157203. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  14. ^ a b Betsy Schiffman, May 9, 2008. "In Praise of Friendster", Wired. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  15. ^ Pete Cashmore, September 14, 2006. "Dogster’s Friendster for Dogs Raises $1M", Mashable.
  16. ^ Liane Cassavoy, Monday, November 22, 2004. "Secret Santa Gift Swap Goes High Tech", Today @ PC World.
  17. ^ posted on October 15th, 2006 (2006-10-15). "The Friendster Tell-All Story". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2011-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Will Facebook hold out or sell out?". Associated Press.[dead link]
  19. ^ Press Release, August 18, 2008. "Friendster Deploys OpenSocial Support for Benefit of 75 Million Users, Developers and Industry[dead link]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  20. ^ Press Release, August 5, 2008. "Friendster Announces New CEO And $20 Million in Funding[dead link]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  21. ^ Heather Havenstein, October 28, 2008. "Friendster Opens Platform to Developers", PC World. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  22. ^ Jessica Vascellaro, August 5, 2008. "New Friendster CEO Has Asia Focus", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
  23. ^ Michael Tarkington (2009-12-15). "Friendship Valued At Just $26.4 Million In Sale". Tech Crunch. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessibly= ignored (help)
  24. ^ Rao, Leena (2009-12-09). "Malaysian Payments Company MOL Global Snaps Up Friendster". Technocrat. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accessibly= ignored (help)
  25. ^ Scott Steinberg. "Friendster Is Dead: Encourages U.S. Users to Move On". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  26. ^ "Friendster: It's a Facebook world | Latest Philippine Headlines". ABS-CBN News. 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  27. ^ Nikhil Hutheesing, March 22, 2004. "Corporate Inter-Face-Time." Forbes. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  28. ^ a b Dawn Kawabata, August 21, 2006. "Friendless scoops up $10 million in funding." CNET News. Retrieved December 4, 2006.
  29. ^ Caroline McCarthy, August 5, 2008. "Friendster gets $20 million, ex-Googler as CEO." CNET News. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  30. ^ Friendster Awarded Key Social Networking Technology Patent[dead link]
  31. ^ "Friendster Selected by AlwaysOn Media as Top 100 Private Company Award Winner". Pressreleasepoint.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  32. ^ "Webware 100 winner: Friendster". News.cnet.com. 2008-04-21. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  33. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2010-03-22). "Fake Area Newspaper Gets Real Television Show". Artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  34. ^ "The Onion Takes Friendster Down a Few More Notches". Ccinsider.comedycentral.com. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  35. ^ Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of 'Friendster' Civilization: The Onion (VIDEO)
  36. ^ "Lead411 launches "Hottest Silicon Valley Companies" awards". Lead411.com. 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  37. ^ Press Release, January 27, 2009. "Friendster Now Available in Filipino." News Blaze. Retrieved on February 4, 2009.
  38. ^ Press Release, May 15, 2008. "Friendster, Largest Social Network in Asia, Now in Vietnamese[dead link]." Press Release. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  39. ^ a b c Catherine Holahan, May 22, 2007. "Sharing the Widget Wealth." BusinessWeek. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  40. ^ a b Lawrence Coburn, November 3, 2008. "Widget Summit: Hi5 vs. Friendster." Sexy Widget. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
  41. ^ Robin Wauters. "Friendster Gets A Major Makeover, Calls Other Social Networks Plain And Boring". TechCrunch.
  42. ^ Caroline McCarthy, December 9, 2008. "Friendster awarded 'compatibility scoring' patent." CNET. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  43. ^ Eric Eldon, December 9, 2008. "Friendster nabs fourth social networking patent, dozen more pending." VentureBeat. Retrieved on December 9, 2008.
  44. ^ Liz Gannes, August 4, 2010. "Facebook Buys Friendster Patents for $40M." GIGAOM. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  45. ^ http://friendster.ehclients.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=201
  46. ^ "Please read before you post". Getsatisfaction.com. Retrieved 2011-10-22.
  47. ^ "New Friendster Site Gaining Momentum". September 14, 2011.
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