Slide.com
Encyclopedia
Slide, Inc., operator of the Slide.com website, is a Web 2.0
company founded by Max Levchin
and based in San Francisco, California
. Originally formed to make photo sharing
software for social networking services such as MySpace
, the company achieved its greatest success as the largest developer of third-party applications for Facebook
. The company was acquired by Google on August 4, 2010.
co-founder Max Levchin
, who personally invested $1 million in the new company.
Slide was one of the companies invited to participate in F8, the event at which Facebook announced an open platform allowing third parties to develop and operate their own software applications on the Facebook website.
Slide's first institutional funder was the Founders Fund
, a San Francisco venture capital
firm operated by former PayPal executive Peter Thiel
to invest in Web 2.0 start-up
s. Subsequent investors included the Mayfield Fund
, Khosla Ventures
, and BlueRun Ventures. In January 2008, Slide received a further $50 million in financing from undisclosed institutional investors, rumored to be Fidelity Investments and T Rowe Price. The investment was based on a $500 million valuation.
Many Slide applications were blocked in Turkey
in March 2008 after a local court there ruled that Slide was not censoring user-generated content seen as derogatory to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
per Turkish law.
In 2009 the company officially changed its business model from an ad network to a sponsored content service, by which brands would pay $500,000 to $1 million each for sponsorship placement.
On August 6, 2010, Google agreed to buy Slide.com for $182 million, as well as an extra $46 million in employee retention
bonuses. Founder Levchin, who had invested $7 million of his own money into the company, received $39 million from the acquisition.
On August 26, 2011, Google announced that it was shutting the doors on Slide.
s that would organize photos on their computers and post them to personal blog
s. Later, Slide began to make application widgets for online social network platforms. Several of Slide's plugin applications such as "FunWall", "Fortune Cookie", "My Questions", "Top Friends", and "SuperPoke!
" became at various times among the most popular applications on Facebook. As of late 2007 Slide's principal competitor was RockYou!.
In 2008 Slide introduced "SuperPoke! Pets", a popular application that allows users to care for and buy things for virtual pets, with much success releasing Gold items which players buy with real money.
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
company founded by Max Levchin
Max Levchin
Max Rafael Levchin is a Ukrainian-born American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur widely known as one of the co-founders and for his role as the former chief technology officer of PayPal....
and based in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Originally formed to make photo sharing
Photo sharing
Photo sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others . This function is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images...
software for social networking services such as MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, the company achieved its greatest success as the largest developer of third-party applications for 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...
. The company was acquired by Google on August 4, 2010.
History
Slide was begun as a project in 2004 and formed in 2005 by PayPalPayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
co-founder Max Levchin
Max Levchin
Max Rafael Levchin is a Ukrainian-born American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur widely known as one of the co-founders and for his role as the former chief technology officer of PayPal....
, who personally invested $1 million in the new company.
Slide was one of the companies invited to participate in F8, the event at which Facebook announced an open platform allowing third parties to develop and operate their own software applications on the Facebook website.
Slide's first institutional funder was the Founders Fund
The Founders Fund
Founders Fund is a San Francisco based venture capital firm which invests at all stages in companies with revolutionary technologies. The firm’s six partners, Peter Thiel, Sean Parker, Ken Howery, Luke Nosek, Bruce Gibney, and Brian Singerman have been founders of or early investors in numerous...
, a San Francisco venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
firm operated by former PayPal executive Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
to invest in Web 2.0 start-up
Startup company
A startup company or startup is a company with a limited operating history. These companies, generally newly created, are in a phase of development and research for markets...
s. Subsequent investors included the Mayfield Fund
Mayfield Fund
Mayfield Fund is one of the oldest venture capital firms in the US, focusing on early-stage to growth-stage investments in information technology companies with a focus on enterprise software, Internet consumer & media services, and communications....
, Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures
Khosla Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on early stage companies in the Internet, computing, mobile, silicon technology and clean technology sectors....
, and BlueRun Ventures. In January 2008, Slide received a further $50 million in financing from undisclosed institutional investors, rumored to be Fidelity Investments and T Rowe Price. The investment was based on a $500 million valuation.
Many Slide applications were blocked in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in March 2008 after a local court there ruled that Slide was not censoring user-generated content seen as derogatory to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
per Turkish law.
In 2009 the company officially changed its business model from an ad network to a sponsored content service, by which brands would pay $500,000 to $1 million each for sponsorship placement.
On August 6, 2010, Google agreed to buy Slide.com for $182 million, as well as an extra $46 million in employee retention
Employee retention
Employee retention refers to the ability of an organization to retain its employees. Employee retention can be represented by a simple statistic...
bonuses. Founder Levchin, who had invested $7 million of his own money into the company, received $39 million from the acquisition.
On August 26, 2011, Google announced that it was shutting the doors on Slide.
Products
Slide was formed to develop and run a service users would download for their network browserNetwork browser
A network browser is a tool used to browse a computer network. An example of this is My Network Places . An actual program called Network Browser is offered in Mac OS 9....
s that would organize photos on their computers and post them to personal blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s. Later, Slide began to make application widgets for online social network platforms. Several of Slide's plugin applications such as "FunWall", "Fortune Cookie", "My Questions", "Top Friends", and "SuperPoke!
SuperPoke!
Superpoke! is a Facebook and MySpace application originally created by Nikil Gandhy, Will Liu and Jonathan Hsu. It was launched within a month of the creation of the Facebook Platform. Slide.com acquired the application, along with the trio, in 2007 and grew the application to become the most...
" became at various times among the most popular applications on Facebook. As of late 2007 Slide's principal competitor was RockYou!.
In 2008 Slide introduced "SuperPoke! Pets", a popular application that allows users to care for and buy things for virtual pets, with much success releasing Gold items which players buy with real money.
External links
- slide.com - The official website