Editing Friendster (section)

==History==
Friendster was founded by Canadian [[computer programmer]] [[Jonathan Abrams]] in 2002,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070601/features-how-to-kill-a-great-idea.html | title=How to Kill a Great Idea! | publisher=inc.com | access-date=November 21, 2012 | author=Chafkin, Max | date=June 2007 | archive-date=October 16, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016034325/http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070601/features-how-to-kill-a-great-idea.html | url-status=live }}</ref> before [[MySpace]] (2003), [[Hi5]] (2004), [[Facebook]] (2004), and other [[social networking sites]].<ref name="wired">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2008/05/friendster-inpr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916194805/http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/05/friendster-inpr.html|url-status=dead|title=In Praise of Friendster|first=Betsy|last=Schiffman|date=May 9, 2008|archive-date=September 16, 2008|via=www.wired.com}}</ref> Friendster.com went live in 2003 and was adopted by 3 million users within the first few months.<ref name="NYT" />

Friendster was one of the first of these sites to attain over 1 million members, although it was preceded by several other smaller social networking sites such as [[SixDegrees.com]] (1997) and [[Makeoutclub]] (1999).

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 name, thanks to [[Napster#Legal challenges|several high-profile lawsuits filed against it that year]]. The original Friendster site was founded in [[Mountain View, California]], and was privately owned. Friendster was 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]].

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.<ref name="NYT" /> Friendster's rapid success inspired a generation of niche social networking websites, including [[Dogster]] and [[Elfster]].<ref>Pete Cashmore, September 14, 2006. "[http://mashable.com/2006/09/14/dogsters-friendster-for-dogs-raises-1m/ Dogster's Friendster for Dogs Raises $1M] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124130714/http://mashable.com/2006/09/14/dogsters-friendster-for-dogs-raises-1m/ |date=November 24, 2010 }}", Mashable.</ref><ref>Liane Cassavoy, Monday, November 22, 2004. "[http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/000323.html Secret Santa Gift Swap Goes High Tech]", Today @ PC World. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070706120211/http://blogs.pcworld.com/staffblog/archives/000323.html |date=July 6, 2007 }}</ref>

Friendster had also received competition from all-in-one sites such as [[Windows Live Spaces]], [[Yahoo! 360]], and Facebook. Google offered $30&nbsp;million to buy out Friendster in 2003, but the offer was turned down.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/15/the-friendster-tell-all-story/ |title=The Friendster Tell-All Story |publisher=TechCrunch |date=October 15, 2006 |access-date=2011-10-22 |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416201643/https://techcrunch.com/2006/10/15/the-friendster-tell-all-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Friendster was then funded by [[Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers]] and [[Benchmark Capital]] in October 2003 with a reported valuation of $53&nbsp;million. Friendster's decision to stay private instead of selling to Google in 2003 is considered one of the biggest blunders in [[Silicon Valley]], the [[Associated Press]] claims.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/02/26/next.big.deal.ap/index.html |title=Will Facebook hold out or sell out? |agency=Associated Press |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324234412/http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/internet/02/26/next.big.deal.ap/index.html |archive-date=March 24, 2007 }}</ref> 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!. Scott Sassa later replaced Koogle in June 2004. Sassa left in May 2005 and was replaced by Taek Kwon. Taek Kwon was then{{when|date=March 2015}} succeeded by Kent Lindstrom, following a capitalization by Kleiner and Benchmark that valued Friendster at less than 5% of its 2003 valuation.

In 2008, Friendster had a membership base of more than 115 million registered users and continued to grow in Asia.<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]", Press Release. Retrieved October 27, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219023712/http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr48 |date=December 19, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="nine" /><ref name="wired" /> According to Alexa, the site suffered an exponential decline in traffic in America beginning in 2009. From a peak 40, it dropped to position 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 CEO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://badcode.co.in/these-8-social-media-platforms-failed-because-of-facebook/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219023642/http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr42|url-status=dead|title=These 8 Social Media Platforms Failed Because of FaceBook|date=February 23, 2019|archive-date=December 19, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.friendster.com/index.html?A=pr41|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219023637/http://www.friendster.com/info/presscenter.php?A=pr41|url-status=dead|title=Friendster.com - Living the Game|archive-date=December 19, 2008|website=Friendster.com}}</ref><ref name="heather">Heather Havenstein, October 28, 2008. "[http://www.pcworld.com/article/138956/friendster_opens_platform_to_developers.html Friendster Opens Platform to Developers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316081241/http://www.pcworld.com/article/138956/friendster_opens_platform_to_developers.html |date=March 16, 2010 }}", PC World. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref> Kimber focused on Friendster's expansion in Asia.<ref>Jessica Vascellaro, August 5, 2008. "[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121790017932212287 New Friendster CEO Has Asia Focus] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108054810/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121790017932212287 |date=November 8, 2016 }}", The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2008.</ref>

On December 9, 2009, it was announced that Friendster had been acquired for $26.4&nbsp;million by an internet company based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia named MOL Global.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://techcrunch.com/2009/12/15/friendster-valued-at-just-26-4-million-in-sale/|author=Michael Tarkington|title=Friendship Valued at Just $26.4 Million in Sale|date=December 15, 2009|publisher=Tech Crunch|access-date=June 23, 2011|archive-date=June 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110620204841/http://techcrunch.com/2009/12/15/friendster-valued-at-just-26-4-million-in-sale/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Bobbie |title=After seven years, Friendster sells to Malaysian company |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2009/dec/10/friendster-sold |access-date=28 June 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=10 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628081314/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2009/dec/10/friendster-sold |archive-date=28 June 2022}}</ref> MOL's ownership of Friendster patents including one for a "System, method, and apparatus for connecting users in an online computer system based on their relationships within social networks" <ref>{{Cite patent|country=US|number=7069308|title=System, method and apparatus for connecting users in an online computer system based on their relationships within social networks|pubdate=2006-06-27|assign=Friendster Inc.|inventor1-last=Abrams|inventor1-first=Jonathan H.}}</ref> and Friendster's other core technical infrastructure patents, were bought by Facebook for $40 million in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gannes|first=Liz|date=2010-08-04|title=Facebook Buys Friendster Patents for $40M|url=https://gigaom.com/2010/08/04/facebook-buys-friendster-patents-for-40m/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=gigaom.com|language=en-US|archive-date=March 12, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312154508/http://gigaom.com/2010/08/04/facebook-buys-friendster-patents-for-40m/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2011, the company re-positioned itself as a social gaming site. It discontinued user social network accounts,<ref>{{cite web|author=Scott Steinberg |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/gear-up/friendster-is-dead-encourages-u-s-users-to-move-on-20110511 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912135826/http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/blogs/gear-up/friendster-is-dead-encourages-u-s-users-to-move-on-20110511 |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 12, 2012 |title=Friendster Is Dead: Encourages U.S. Users to Move On|publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=2011-10-22}}</ref> but Friendster accounts had not been deleted, and users could still log in using their existing passwords. Users' contact lists were preserved, along with basic information. Friendster said that the focus would now be on pure "entertainment and fun", and the aim was not to compete with Facebook, but rather to complement it.<ref name="ABS-CBN News">{{cite web |url=http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/04/27/11/friendster-admits-defeat-facebook |title=Friendster: It's a Facebook world &#124; Latest Philippine Headlines |publisher=ABS-CBN News |date=April 27, 2011 |access-date=2011-10-22 |archive-date=January 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112043959/http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/04/27/11/friendster-admits-defeat-facebook |url-status=live }}</ref>

On June 14, 2015, the site and all its services shut down indefinitely,<ref name="friendster.com"/> but the company did not officially shutter until the end of June 2018.

In October 2023, the site was reactivated with an entry box for an email address and a button to "Get early access". The website is owned by Friendster Labs Inc. which has published a terms of service and privacy policy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Friendster terms of service |url=https://friendster.com/pages/tos/ |language=en}}</ref>

On October 3, 2024, the CEO of Friendster, Mike Carson, invited John Zachary Danao to be its first user to enter the early version of the site.

===Financial history===
The company was founded in 2002 with a $12&nbsp;million investment by [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]], [[Benchmark Capital]], and [[private investors]].<ref name="NYT" /><ref>Nikhil Hutheesing, March 22, 2004. "[https://www.forbes.com/best/2004/0322/002_print.html Corporate Inter-Face-Time] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210033849/http://www.forbes.com/best/2004/0322/002_print.html |date=February 10, 2017 }}." Forbes. Retrieved December 4, 2008.</ref>

In 2003, Friendster management received a $30&nbsp;million buyout offer from Google, which it declined.<ref name="NYT" />

Friendster received another $3&nbsp;million in funding in February 2006 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Benchmark Capital.<ref name="CNET">Dawn Kawabata, August 21, 2006. "[https://www.cnet.com/news/friendster-scoops-up-10-million-in-funding/ Friendster scoops up $10 million in funding] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024030441/https://www.cnet.com/news/friendster-scoops-up-10-million-in-funding/ |date=October 24, 2021 }}." CNET News. Retrieved October 23, 2021.</ref> In August 2006, Friendster also received $10&nbsp;million in funding in a round led by [[DAG Ventures]],<ref name="CNET" /> and Friendster announced in August 2008 that it had raised an additional $20&nbsp;million in funding in a round led by [[IDG Ventures]].<ref name="VentureBeat" /><ref>Caroline McCarthy, August 5, 2008. "[https://www.cnet.com/news/friendster-gets-20-million-ex-googler-as-ceo/ Friendster gets $20 million, ex-Googler as CEO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211024030621/https://www.cnet.com/news/friendster-gets-20-million-ex-googler-as-ceo/ |date=October 24, 2021 }}." CNET Retrieved October 23, 2021.</ref> Prior to its acquisition by MOL Global, Friendster was backed by [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]], [[Benchmark Capital]], [[DAG Ventures]], IDG Ventures, and individual investors.