Faceparty
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|
| URL | faceparty.com |
|---|---|
| Commercial? | Yes |
| Type of site | Online Community |
| Registration | Yes |
| Available language(s) | English |
| Owner | I Blame Television Ltd |
| Created by | Andrew Bamforth |
| Launched | Autumn 2000 |
| Alexa rank | 166,243 (August 2012[update])[1] |
Faceparty is a UK-based social networking site allowing users to create online profiles and interact with each other using forums and messaging facilities similar to email.
History
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2009) |
Faceparty was founded by Andrew David Bamforth in Autumn 1999.
In March 2008, Faceparty was reclaimed by I Blame Television Ltd, after closing down CIS Internet Ltd (Bamforth being a director/Major shareholder) the assets being transferred.
It was also announced that all advertising had been removed in a bid to become less corporate, and that staff levels would fall from 18 to 4.[citation needed]
Membership
By June 2006 the site had 6 million members, with another 35,000 new members joining every week. It soon became the UK's most visited website by page impression, beating the likes of eBay and Amazon with over 1 billion page impressions per month (source Hitwise / ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations UK)).
In April 2008, shortly after its acquisition by Anarchy Towers, Faceparty removed 7 million members from its database leaving 200,000 members. However, it would later reinstate those deleted by mistake. The reason given by Faceparty was that it was required to do this by the UK government to comply with new child protection laws, although it later turned out that this was not true.[citation needed]
Paid services
The Faceparty signup process currently requires users to buy a unique, one use only password, via text message or PayPal.[2] Additionally, some of the features of Faceparty such as a user being able to see who has been visiting their profile and rating them, require Cool Tools. Users that want to take advantage of these extra features are required to pay an annual fee.
Faceparty also offers Adult Verification System (AVS) which allows users over the age of 18 to view restricted Adult or Pending photos content on other users profiles, for an additional monthly fee.
Music
In mid July 2006, Sony BMG struck a short-lived partnership with Faceparty, allowing its artists to be promoted to the social network's members on an exclusive basis, with competitions, free music downloads, and other promotions planned. This partnership was cancelled when Faceparty was re-claimed by the original owners.[3]
Controversy
In 2006, Faceparty was censured for running a banner that told purchasers of Blue Skin clothing it would ensure they "got laid", following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority from a member of the public, who strongly objected to the message the banner was projecting to Faceparty's younger internet surfers.[4]
References
- ^ "Faceparty.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
- ^ "retrieved 6th September, 2009". Faceparty.com. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
- ^ http://www.newmediazero.com/News/List.aspx?liArticleTypeID=1
