Back فريندستير Arabic ফ্রেন্ডস্টার Bengali/Bangla Friendster CBK-ZAM Friendster CV Friendster German فرندستر Persian Friendster French Friendster ID Friendster Italian Friendster Japanese
 | |
 Screenshot of Friendster's main page, updated in July 2011 | |
Type of site | Social network game |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | MOL Global |
| Key people | Ganesh Kumar Bangah (CEO) |
| URL | www |
| Advertising | Banner ads, Contextual ads, Sponsorships |
| Registration | Free |
| Users | 8.2 million (June 2010)[1] |
| Launched | March 22, 2003 |
| Current status | Defunct (as a social networking site) Closed (as a social gaming site on June 14, 2015; as a company on June 30, 2018) |
Friendster was a social network game based in Mountain View, California, founded by Jonathan Abrams and launched in March 2003.[2][3] Later, the company became a social gaming site based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Before Friendster was redesigned, the service allowed users to contact other members, maintain those contacts, and share online content and media with those contacts.[4] 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 profiles and networks.[4] It is considered one of the original social networks.[5]
After the launching of Friendster as a social gaming platform in June 2011, the number of registered users reached over 115 million. The company operated mainly from three Asian countries: the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, and over 90% of the site's traffic came from Asia. As of 2008, Friendster had more monthly unique visitors than any other social network in Asia.[6][7][8] Friendster remained notably popular in Indonesia through 2012.[9]
On June 14, 2015, Friendster, citing "the evolving landscape in our challenging industry" and lack of engagement by the online community, suspended their services.[10] Three years later, on June 30, 2018, it closed down as a company and eventually dissolved.
- ^ "DoubleClick Ad Planner". Archived from the original on October 10, 2010. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
- ^ Eric Eldon, August 4, 2008. "Friendster raises $20 million, nabs a Googler to be CEO Archived August 24, 2017, at the Wayback Machine" VentureBeat. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ^ Gary Rivlin, October 15, 2006. "Wallflower at the Web Party Archived April 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine." New York Times. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ^ a b "Friendster at a Glance document" (PDF). Images.friendster.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 31, 2009.
- ^ "May: Month of the Internet Rapture – TNW Social Media". Thenextweb.com. May 20, 2011. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ ComScore Press Release, June 30, 2008. "India and China Propel Internet Audience Growth in Asia-Pacific Region, According to comScore Archived May 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ Ling Woo Liu, January 29, 2008. "Friendster Moves to Asia Archived May 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine", TIME. Retrieved October 27, 2008.
- ^ "Friendster.com - Living the Game". Friendster.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008.
- ^ Saylor, Michael (2012). The Mobile Wave: How Mobile Intelligence Will Change Everything. Perseus Books/Vanguard Press. pp. 129, 304. ISBN 978-1593157203.
- ^ "Friendster.com – Living the Game". Archived from the original on November 20, 2002.