Friends Reunited
Encyclopedia
Friends Reunited is a portfolio of social networking websites based upon the themes of reunion with research (separate site Genes Reunited ), dating and job-hunting. The first and eponymous website was created by a husband and wife team in the classic back bedroom internet start-up; it was the first online social network to achieve prominence in Britain, and it weathered the dotcom bust.
Each site works on the principle of user-generated content
through which registered users are able to post information about themselves which may be searched through by other users. A double-blind email system allows contact between users. Formerly, the site cost £7.50 per year to use but is now free.
The main Friends Reunited site aims to reunite people who have in common a school, university, address, workplace, sports club or armed service; the sister site Genes Reunited enables members to pool their family trees and identify common ancestors; the Dating and Jobs sister sites link members with similar attributes, interests and/or locations.
Friends Reunited branding has been attached to CD
collections of nostalgic popular music
, and television programmes broadcast on the ITV
network, which owned the site until August 2009. A book of members' stories was published in 2003 by Virgin Books
, and a song about (and named after) the site was released by The Hussys in 2006.
website Classmates.com
. Friends Reunited was officially launched in July 2000. By the end of the year, it had 3,000 members, and a year later this had increased to 2.5 million. Ex-Financial Times executive Michael Murphy was brought into Friends Reunited as the new Chief Executive in 2005 and the similar web site SchoolFriends Australia
& Findakiwi New Zealand
was rebranded and merged with the UK site. By December 2005, Friends Reunited had over fifteen million members and was bought by British TV company ITV plc
for £120 million ($208 million), plus further payments of up to £55 million based on its performance up to 2009.
Friends Reunited had become popular enough that its uses have gone beyond the intentions of its founders. According to the Register
, potential employers use entries to screen job applicants. Friends Reunited has been used by bitter partners to exact revenge on those who have abandoned them and users have been sued for comments made on Friends Reunited about other people. Friends Reunited features prominently in Ben Elton
's detective novel Past Mortem
(2004
). The website launched a series of television advertisements for the first time in early 2007.
Friends Reunited and owners ITV
have been accused of being left behind by competitors in the UK, primarily Facebook
and Bebo
(see others in list of social networking sites), with growth of only 1.2% year-on-year in 2007. By comparison, Facebook's UK traffic increased by 2393% and Bebo's by 173%. The site has been described as 'bogged down by an oppressive design, ad-heavy services and payment barriers at every turn'. However, ITV
Chairman Michael Grade
has described the site as 'the sweet spot' of the internet and stated that 'Friends Reunited is one of the great undersung jewels in the crown ... one of the most important bits of ITV going forward, a massive presence, and profitable' In March 2008, the site dropped the subscription fee required to contact members in a bid to regain losses of 47% of unique users and market share from more dominant social networking sites. The site made a profit of £22 million in 2007 - though its market valuation has fallen sharply from the £175 million paid by ITV in 2005, while those of competitors have increased dramatically. Visitor traffic has declined sharply since September 2007 and the site is now dwarfed by competitor sites in the UK market.
On 4 March 2009, ITV announced that it would sell Friends Reunited as part of wider restructuring and disposal of non-core assets. In August 2009 it was announced that Friends Reunited had been sold for £25 million to brightsolid Limited, a firm which is owned by DC Thomson, a Dundee-based publisher. Following regulatory approval, the sale was completed on 25 March 2010.
Each site works on the principle of user-generated content
User-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
through which registered users are able to post information about themselves which may be searched through by other users. A double-blind email system allows contact between users. Formerly, the site cost £7.50 per year to use but is now free.
The main Friends Reunited site aims to reunite people who have in common a school, university, address, workplace, sports club or armed service; the sister site Genes Reunited enables members to pool their family trees and identify common ancestors; the Dating and Jobs sister sites link members with similar attributes, interests and/or locations.
Friends Reunited branding has been attached to CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
collections of nostalgic popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, and television programmes broadcast on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network, which owned the site until August 2009. A book of members' stories was published in 2003 by Virgin Books
Virgin Books
Virgin Books is a United Kingdom book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Enterprises, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company.-History:...
, and a song about (and named after) the site was released by The Hussys in 2006.
History
The website was conceived by Steve and Julie Pankhurst of Barnet, Hertfordshire in 1999. Julie Pankhurst's curiosity about the current status of old school friends inspired her to develop the website, exploiting a gap in the UK market following the success of USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
website Classmates.com
Classmates.com
Classmates.com is a social network service created in 1995 by Randy Conrads who founded Classmates Online, Inc.The social media website was originally designed to assist members in finding friends and acquaintances from kindergarten, primary school, high school, college, work and the United States...
. Friends Reunited was officially launched in July 2000. By the end of the year, it had 3,000 members, and a year later this had increased to 2.5 million. Ex-Financial Times executive Michael Murphy was brought into Friends Reunited as the new Chief Executive in 2005 and the similar web site SchoolFriends Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
& Findakiwi New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
was rebranded and merged with the UK site. By December 2005, Friends Reunited had over fifteen million members and was bought by British TV company ITV plc
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
for £120 million ($208 million), plus further payments of up to £55 million based on its performance up to 2009.
Friends Reunited had become popular enough that its uses have gone beyond the intentions of its founders. According to the Register
The Register
The Register is a British technology news and opinion website. It was founded by John Lettice, Mike Magee and Ross Alderson in 1994 as a newsletter called "Chip Connection", initially as an email service...
, potential employers use entries to screen job applicants. Friends Reunited has been used by bitter partners to exact revenge on those who have abandoned them and users have been sued for comments made on Friends Reunited about other people. Friends Reunited features prominently in Ben Elton
Ben Elton
Benjamin Charles "Ben" Elton is an English comedian, author, playwright and director. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement of the 1980s, as a writer on such cult series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, as well as also a successful stand-up comedian on stage and TV....
's detective novel Past Mortem
Past Mortem
Past Mortem is a detective novel by Ben Elton first published in 2004. It is about a serial killer on the loose in England, mainly in the London area, and Scotland Yard's attempts at tracking him or her down...
(2004
2004 in literature
The year 2004 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Canada Reads selects Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing to be read across the nation....
). The website launched a series of television advertisements for the first time in early 2007.
Friends Reunited and owners ITV
ITV plc
ITV plc is a British media company that operates 12 of the 15 regional television broadcasters that make up the ITV Network, the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom...
have been accused of being left behind by competitors in the UK, primarily Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
and Bebo
Bebo
Bebo is a social networking website launched in July 2005. It is currently owned and operated by Criterion Capital Partners after taking over from AOL in June 2010....
(see others in list of social networking sites), with growth of only 1.2% year-on-year in 2007. By comparison, Facebook's UK traffic increased by 2393% and Bebo's by 173%. The site has been described as 'bogged down by an oppressive design, ad-heavy services and payment barriers at every turn'. However, ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
Chairman Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...
has described the site as 'the sweet spot' of the internet and stated that 'Friends Reunited is one of the great undersung jewels in the crown ... one of the most important bits of ITV going forward, a massive presence, and profitable' In March 2008, the site dropped the subscription fee required to contact members in a bid to regain losses of 47% of unique users and market share from more dominant social networking sites. The site made a profit of £22 million in 2007 - though its market valuation has fallen sharply from the £175 million paid by ITV in 2005, while those of competitors have increased dramatically. Visitor traffic has declined sharply since September 2007 and the site is now dwarfed by competitor sites in the UK market.
On 4 March 2009, ITV announced that it would sell Friends Reunited as part of wider restructuring and disposal of non-core assets. In August 2009 it was announced that Friends Reunited had been sold for £25 million to brightsolid Limited, a firm which is owned by DC Thomson, a Dundee-based publisher. Following regulatory approval, the sale was completed on 25 March 2010.