Vkontakte.ru
Encyclopedia
VKontakte is a Russian social network service
popular in Russia
, Ukraine
, Kazakhstan
, and Belarus
. VK offers a striking similarity in design and functionality to its US rival Facebook
, and as such has been described as a "Facebook clone." Like Facebook, VK allows users to message contacts publicly or privately, create groups and events, share and tag images and video, and play browser-based games. One distinction of VK is its integration with torrent
filesharing technology which allows users to share larger files.
, VK has around 135 million accounts, but has acknowledged that it has a major spam problem, and no longer advertises user numbers on its homepage. VKontakte is ranked 43 in Alexa
's global Top 500 sites and is the fourth most visited website in Russia
. In May 2011 vkontakte.ru and vk.com were visited by 23.6 million and 4.9 million people from Russia aged 12-54.
In English, В Контакте or V Kontákte translates as "In Contact" or "In Touch".
. On 1 October 2006 the domain name vkontakte.ru was registered. User registration was initially limited to within university circles exclusively by invitation, but the site still grew quickly. In February 2007 the site reached a user base of over 100,000 and was recognized as the second largest player in Russia's nascent social network market. In the same month the site was subjected to a severe DDoS attack which knocked it briefly offline. The user base reached 1 million in July 2007, and 10 million in April 2008. In December 2008 VK overtook rival Odnoklassniki as Russia's most popular social networking service.
On 6 October 2009 the site was launched in 20 international languages. In December 2009 the site had a user base of 50 million, and by November 2010 that had risen to 100 million. On 11 February 2011 VK reverted to user registration by invitation only.
V Kontakte" was incorporated on 19 January 2007 with shareholders Vyacheslav Mirilashvili (60%), Pavel Durov (20%), Mikhail Mirilashvili (10%), and Lev Leviyev (10%).
The company is now 100% owned by offshore firm Doraview Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands
. The full current ownership is not in the public domain, although Mail.Ru Group (formerly Digital Sky Technologies
) have publicly acknowledged a stake of 39.99%.
VKontakte, like many other major social networks, uses the XMPP protocol as its basis for its chat and presence service.
.
website. Later, Kaspersky Lab
said that the user list was collected by the Trojan Trojan.Win32.VkHost.an.
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Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
popular in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, and Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. VK offers a striking similarity in design and functionality to its US rival 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 as such has been described as a "Facebook clone." Like Facebook, VK allows users to message contacts publicly or privately, create groups and events, share and tag images and video, and play browser-based games. One distinction of VK is its integration with torrent
Torrent
Torrent may refer to:Animals:* Torrent Duck, a species of the family Anatidae* Torrent frog, various unrelated frogs* Torrent salamander, a family of salamanders* Torrent Robin, a bird species* Torrent fishComputers and Internet:...
filesharing technology which allows users to share larger files.
, VK has around 135 million accounts, but has acknowledged that it has a major spam problem, and no longer advertises user numbers on its homepage. VKontakte is ranked 43 in Alexa
Alexa Internet
Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based subsidiary company of Amazon.com that is known for its toolbar and Web site. Once installed, the toolbar collects data on browsing behavior which is transmitted to the Web site where it is stored and analyzed and is the basis for the company's Web traffic...
's global Top 500 sites and is the fourth most visited website in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. In May 2011 vkontakte.ru and vk.com were visited by 23.6 million and 4.9 million people from Russia aged 12-54.
In English, В Контакте or V Kontákte translates as "In Contact" or "In Touch".
History
Founder Pavel Durov launched VKontakte for beta testing in September 2007, having just graduated from St Petersburg State UniversitySaint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
. On 1 October 2006 the domain name vkontakte.ru was registered. User registration was initially limited to within university circles exclusively by invitation, but the site still grew quickly. In February 2007 the site reached a user base of over 100,000 and was recognized as the second largest player in Russia's nascent social network market. In the same month the site was subjected to a severe DDoS attack which knocked it briefly offline. The user base reached 1 million in July 2007, and 10 million in April 2008. In December 2008 VK overtook rival Odnoklassniki as Russia's most popular social networking service.
On 6 October 2009 the site was launched in 20 international languages. In December 2009 the site had a user base of 50 million, and by November 2010 that had risen to 100 million. On 11 February 2011 VK reverted to user registration by invitation only.
Company
"LLCLimited liability company
A limited liability company is a flexible form of enterprise that blends elements of partnership and corporate structures. It is a legal form of company that provides limited liability to its owners in the vast majority of United States jurisdictions...
V Kontakte" was incorporated on 19 January 2007 with shareholders Vyacheslav Mirilashvili (60%), Pavel Durov (20%), Mikhail Mirilashvili (10%), and Lev Leviyev (10%).
The company is now 100% owned by offshore firm Doraview Limited, based in the British Virgin Islands
British Virgin Islands
The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...
. The full current ownership is not in the public domain, although Mail.Ru Group (formerly Digital Sky Technologies
Digital Sky Technologies
Digital Sky Technologies or Mail.Ru Group is an international investment firm focused solely on the Internet sector. The firm was founded by Yuri Milner and emerged out of Mail.ru Group...
) have publicly acknowledged a stake of 39.99%.
Functionality
The site's functionality includes personalized pages, easy access to friends' pages and news, photo and video hosting, a simple messaging system, groups that users can participate in, and notes. Because almost all of the information provided by users is subject to easy search, people are able to look for those from the same school or with similar interests, place of birth, etc. New features are added to the website from time to time, such as the ability to host audio files within groups and personal pages; an "Opinions" function, which allows users to express, anonymously, personal thoughts about a friend on the network; "Offers" to ask people whether one wants to do something together with the user; "Questions" to answer the question that is asked by user; and "Applications", which contain Flash API based games, tools, chat rooms, etc.VKontakte, like many other major social networks, uses the XMPP protocol as its basis for its chat and presence service.
Privacy
Users have the ability to control the availability of their content. Users can hide or reveal pictures, videos, and entire pages. Users can also choose who can invite them to join groups, write personal messages, write on their wall, and so forth.Languages
In September 2009 VK launched vk.com and translated the site into twelve international languages in an effort to expand the site's user base beyond Russia and the former Soviet Union. The site now has 67 languages available, including one novelty language dubbed "V Soyuze," which uses Soviet-era language and a red interface branded with the Soviet hammer and sickleHammer and sickle
The hammer and sickle is a part of communist symbolism and its usage indicates an association with Communism, a Communist party, or a Communist state. It features a hammer and a sickle overlapping each other. The two tools are symbols of the industrial proletariat and the peasantry; placing them...
.
Phishing
On July 30, 2009, the media reported that a text file, containing the data of 135,000 users, had spread across the Internet. Experts commented that the file contained passwords stolen from victims who had input their data at the phisher'sPhishing
Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
website. Later, Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab
Kaspersky Lab is a Russian computer security company, co-founded by Natalia Kaspersky and Eugene Kaspersky in 1997, offering anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, and anti-intrusion products...
said that the user list was collected by the Trojan Trojan.Win32.VkHost.an.
Popularity
According to Alexa.com Vkontakte is one of the most visited websites in Russia and Ukraine. It holds the 4th position in Russia and the 3rd in Ukraine. Alexa reports that page views and "time on site" have been in decline for over a year..See also
- Online communities with more than 100 million users
- FacebookFacebookFacebook 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...
- Odnoklassniki
- Renren
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