History of youtube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, share and view videos.^[1] The site was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, who were all early employees of PayPal.^[2] Prior to PayPal, Hurley studied design at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.^[3] The domain name "YouTube.com" was activated on February 14, 2005, and the website was developed over the subsequent months. The creators offered the public a preview of the site in May 2005, six months before YouTube made its official debut. Like many technology startups, YouTube was started as an angel-funded enterprise from a makeshift office in a garage. In November 2005, venture firm Sequoia Capital invested an initial $3.5 million;^[4] additionally, Roelof Botha, partner of the firm and former CFO of PayPal, joined the YouTube board of directors. In April 2006, Sequoia and Artis Capital Management put an additional $8 million into the company, which had experienced huge popular growth within its first few months.^[5]

During the summer of 2006, YouTube was one of the fastest growing websites on the Web,^[6] and was ranked the 5th most popular website on Alexa, far out pacing even MySpace's rate of growth.^[7] According to a July 16, 2006 survey, 100 million video clips are viewed daily on YouTube, with an additional 65,000 new videos uploaded every 24 hours. The website averages nearly 20 million visitors per month, according to Nielsen/NetRatings,^[8] where around 44% are female, 56% male, and the 12- to 17-year-old age group is dominant.^[9] YouTube's pre-eminence in the online video market is substantial. According to the website Hitwise.com, YouTube commands up to 64% of the UK online video market.^[10]

On October 9, 2006, it was announced that the company would be purchased by Google for US$1.65 billion in stock. The purchase agreement between Google and YouTube came after YouTube presented three agreements with media companies in an attempt to escape the threat of copyright-infringement lawsuits. YouTube will continue operating independently, with its co-founders and 67 employees working within the company.^[11] The deal to acquire YouTube closed on November 13, and was, at the time, Google's second largest acquisition.^[12] Google’s February 7, 2007 SEC filing revealed the breakdown of profits for YouTube’s investors after the sale to Google. At the time of reporting Sequoia Capital’s shares were valued at more than $442 million, Chad Hurley’s at more than $345 million, Steve Chen’s at more than $326 million, Artis Capital Management at more than $83 million, and Jawed Karim’s at more than $64 million.^[13]

Time featured a YouTube screen with a large mirror as its annual 'Person of the Year', citing user-created media such as YouTube's, and featuring the site's originators along with several content creators. The Wall Street Journal and New York Times have also reviewed posted content on YouTube, and its effects upon corporate communications and recruitment in 2006. PC World Magazine named YouTube the 9th of the Top 10 Best Products of 2006.^[14] In 2007, both Sports Illustrated and Dime Magazine featured stellar reviews of a basketball highlight video entitled, The Ultimate Pistol Pete Maravich MIX.^[15] Because of its acquisition by Google, it is sometimes referred to as "GooTube."^[15]

Before being purchased by Google, YouTube declared that its business model was advertisement-based, making 15 million dollars per month. Some industry commentators have speculated that YouTube's running costs—specifically the bandwidth required—may be as high as 5 to 6 million dollars per month,^[16] thereby fueling criticisms that the company, like many Internet startups, did not have a viably implemented business model. Advertisements were launched on the site beginning in March 2006. In April, YouTube started using Google AdSense^{[citation needed]}. YouTube subsequently stopped using AdSense but has resumed in local regions.

Advertising is YouTube's central mechanism for gaining revenue. This issue has also been taken up in scientific analysis. Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams argue in their book Wikinomics that YouTube is an example for an economy that is based on mass collaboration and makes use of the Internet. "Whether your business is closer to Boeing or P&G, or more like YouTube or flickr, there are vast pools of external talent that you can tap with the right approach. Companies that adopt these models can drive important changes in their industries and rewrite the rules of competition" ^[17] "new business models for open content will not come from traditional media establishments, but from companies such as Google, Yahoo, and YouTube. This new generation of companies is not burned by the legacies that inhibit the publishing incumbents, so they can be much more agile in responding to customer demands. More important, they understand that you don't need to control the quantity and destiny of bits if they can provide compelling venues in which people build communities around sharing and remixing content. Free content is just the lure on which they layer revenue from advertising and premium services".^[18]

Tapscott and Williams argue that it is important for new media companies to find ways to make a profit with the help of peer-produced content. The new Internet economy that they term Wikinomics would be based on the principles of openness, peering, sharing, and acting globally. Companies could make use of these principles in order to gain profit with the help of Web 2.0 applications: “Companies can design and assemble products with their customers, and in some cases customers can do the majority of the value creation”. Tapscott and Williams argue that the outcome will be an economic democracy.

There are other views in the debate that agree with Tapscott and Williams that it is increasingly based on harnessing open source/content, networking, sharing, and peering, but they argue that the result is not an economic democracy, but a subtle form and deepening of exploitation, in which labour costs are reduced by Internet-based global outsourcing.

The second view is e.g. taken by Christian Fuchs in his book "Internet and Society". He argues that YouTube is an example of a business model that is based on combining the gift with the commodity. The first is free, the second yields profit. The novel aspect of this business strategy is that it combines what seems at first to be different, the gift and the commodity. YouTube would give free access to its users, the more users, the more profit it can potentially make because it can in principle increase advertisement rates and will gain further interest of advertisers. YouTube would sell its audience that it gains by free access to its advertising customers.

"Commodified Internet spaces are always profit oriented, but the goods they provide are not necessarily exchange value and market oriented; in some cases (such as Google, Yahoo, MySpace, YouTube, Netscape), free goods or platforms are provided as gifts in order to drive up the number of users so that high advertisement rates can be charged in order to achieve profit."

In June 2009, BusinessWeek reported that, according to a report by San Francisco-based IT consulting company RampRate, YouTube was far closer to profitability than previous reports, including the April, 2009, projection by investment bank Credit Suisse estimating YouTube would lose as much as $470 million in 2009. RampRate's report pegged that number at no more than $174 million.

List of social networking websites

Contents
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z References

Name	Description/Focus	Date launched	Registered users	Registration	Global Alexa[1] Page ranking
43 Things	Goal setting and achievement	02005-01-011st January 2005	&100000000030000000000003,000,000[2]	Open	&1000000000001333200000013,332[3]
Academia.edu	Social networking site for academics/researchers	02008-09-01September 2008	&10000000000211000000000211,000[4]	Open	&100000000000060530000006,053[5]
Advogato	Free and open source software developers	01999 1999	&1000000000001357500000013,575[6]	Open	&10000000000144599000000144,599[7]
aNobii	Books	02006 2006		Open	&1000000000001193200000011,932[8]
AsianAvenue	A social network for the Asian American community	01997 1997		Open	&1000000000007585400000075,854[9]
aSmallWorld	European jet set and social elite world-wide	02004-03-01March 2004	&10000000000550000000000550,000[10]	Invite-only	&100000000000061920000006,192[11]
Athlinks	Running, Swimming	02001 2001	&10000000000139458000000139,458[12]	Open	&1000000000003712900000037,129[13]
Audimated.com	Independent music	02010 2010		Open	&10000000000747857000000747,857[14]
Badoo	General, Meet new people & dating, Popular in Europe and Latin America	02006 2006	&10000000133000000000000133,000,000[15]	Open to people 18 and older	&10000000000000117000000117[16]
Bebo	General	02005-07-01July 2005	&10000000117000000000000117,000,000[17]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000022790000002,279[18]
BIGADDA	Indian Social Networking Site	02007-08-01August 2007	&100000000030000000000003,000,000[19]	Open to people 16 and older	&1000000000001290300000012,903[20]
Biip.no	Norwegian community	02005-06-01June 1, 2005	&10000000000430000000000430,000[21]	Requires Norwegian phone number	&1000000000004246800000042,468[22]
BlackPlanet	African-Americans	01999-09-01September 1, 1999	&1000000002000000000000020,000,000[23]	Open	&100000000000058630000005,863[24]
Blauk	Anyone who wants to tell something about a stranger or acquaintance.	02010 2010		Open to people 13 and older.	&10000000000463796000000463,796[25]
Blogster	Blogging community	02005-11-24November 24, 2005	&1000000000008557900000085,579[26]	Open	&1000000000001014400000010,144[27]
Bolt.com	General	01996 1996		Open	&10000000000111069000000111,069[28]
Busuu	Language learning community	02008-05-16May 16, 2008	&100000000040000000000004,000,000[29]	Open	&100000000000043300000004,330[30]
Buzznet	Music and pop-culture	02005 2005	&1000000001000000000000010,000,000[31]	Open	&100000000000012270000001,227[32]
CafeMom	Mothers	02006-12-01December 2006	&100000000012500000000001,250,000[33]	Open to moms and moms-to-be	&100000000000014920000001,492[34]
Cake Financial	Investing	02007-09-17September 17, 2007		Open	&10000000000481922000000481,922[35]
Care2	Green living and social activism	01998 1998	&100000000099619470000009,961,947[36]	Open	&100000000000018830000001,883[37]
CaringBridge	Not for profit providing free websites that connect family and friends during a serious health event, care and recovery.[38]	02012	&100000000095000000000009,500,000[39]	Open to people 18 and older[40]	[41]
Cellufun	Mobile social game network, Number 8 US mobile website[42]	02007 2007	&100000000030000000000003,000,000[43]	Open to people 14 and older	&10000000000115511000000115,511[44]
Classmates.com	School, college, work and the military	01995 1995	&1000000005000000000000050,000,000[45]	Open to people 18 and older[46]	&100000000000029610000002,961[47]
Cloob	General. Popular in Iran	02004 2004		Open	&10000000000000914000000914[48]
CouchSurfing	Worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities they visit.	02003 2003	&100000000029674210000002,967,421[49]	Open	&100000000000018210000001,821[50]
CozyCot	East Asian and Southeast Asian women	02001 2001	&10000000000150000000000150,000[51]	Open	&100000000000037110000003,711[50]
Cross.tv	Faith Based social network for Christian believers from around the world	02008 2008	&10000000000450000000000450,000[52]	Open	&1000000000003171600000031,716[53]
Crunchyroll	Anime and forums.	02006 2006		Open	&100000000000051530000005,153[54]
Cyworld	General. Popular in South Korea.	01999 1999	&1000000002400000000000024,000,000[55]	Open	&100000000000010200000001,020[56]
DailyBooth	Photo-blogging site where users upload a photo every day	02009-02-13February 13, 2009		Open	&100000000000050140000005,014[57]
DailyStrength	Medical & emotional support community - Physical health, Mental health, Support groups	02007-11-04November 4, 2007		Open	&1000000000002205400000022,054[58]
Decayenne	European and American social elite	02001 2001		Invite-only	&100000000012639430000001,263,943[59]
delicious	Social bookmarking allowing users to locate and save websites that match their own interests	02003-09-01September 2003	&100000000088229210000008,822,921[60]	Open	&10000000000000272000000272[61]
deviantART	Art community	02000-08-07August 7, 2000	&100000000090409620000009,040,962[62]	Open	&10000000000000126000000126[63]
Diaspora*	Decentralized, privacy aware, general (open source)	02012-11-27November, 2010	&10000000000370000000000370,000+[64][65]	Open	&1000000000002494700000024,947[66][67]
Disaboom	People with disabilities (Amputee, cerebral palsy, MS, and other disabilities)	02012		Open	&10000000000275698000000275,698[68]
Dol2day	Politic community, Social network, Internet radio (German-speaking countries)	02012	&1000000000004020000000040,200[69]	Open	&10000000000887047000000887,047[70]
DontStayIn	Clubbing (primarily UK)	02012		Open	&1000000000005409500000054,095[71]
Draugiem.lv	General (primarily LV, LT, HU)	02012	&100000000026004660000002,600,466[26]	Invitation only	&100000000000029150000002,915[72]
douban	Chinese Web 2.0 website providing user review and recommendation services for movies, books, and music.	02005 2005	&1000000004685000000000046,850,000[73]	Open	&10000000000000119000000119[74]
DXY.cn	Chinese online community for physicians, health care professionals, pharmacies and facilities	02000 2000[75]	&100000000020000000000002,000,000[76]	Open	&1000000000001400500000014,005[77]
Elftown	Community and wiki around Fantasy and sci-fi.	02012	&10000000000185000000000185,000[78]	Open, approval needed	&1000000000004327700000043,277[79]
Elixio	High-net-worth individuals, young business executives	02007-07-01July 2007	&1000000000004000000000040,000 [80]	Invite-only	&10000000000153646000000153,646[81]
Epernicus	For research scientists	02012		Open	&10000000000528083000000528,083[82]
Eons.com	For baby boomers and mature internet users age 40 and beyond.	02012		Open to people age 40 years and older	&1000000000003424000000034,240[83]
Experience Project	Life experiences	02012		Open	&100000000000034520000003,452[84]
Exploroo	Travel Social Networking.	02012		Open	&10000000000209868000000209,868[85]
Facebook	General.	02004-02-01February 2004	&10000000800000000000000800,000,000+[86]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000000020000002[87]
Faceparty	General. Popular UK.	02012	&10000000000200000000000200,000[88]	Invitation only to people 18 and older	&1000000000002876000000028,760[89]
Faces.com	Adult Social Network, Mainly UK & USA	02011 2011	&10000000000700000000000700,000[90]	Open to people 18 and older worldwide	&10000000000159693000000159,693[91]
Fetlife	People who are into BDSM	02008-01-01January 2008	&100000000012000000000001,200,000[92]	Open to people "of legal age to see adult content"	&100000000000055130000005,513[93]
FilmAffinity	Movies and TV Series	02002 2002	&10000000000250000000000250,000[94]	Open	&100000000000039160000003,916[95]
FledgeWing	Entrepreneural community targeted towards worldwide university students	02012		Open to university students	&100000000017939900000001,793,990[96]
Flixster	Movies	02007 2007	&1000000006300000000000063,000,000[97]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000010180000001,018[98]
Flickr	Photo sharing, commenting, photography related networking, worldwide	02004-02-01February 2004	&1000000003200000000000032,000,000[99]	Open to people 13 and older (Yahoo! Login)	&1000000000000003100000031[100]
Focus.com	Business to Business, worldwide	02005 2005	&10000000000850000000000850,000[101]	Open to people 13 and older	&1000000000001149500000011,495[102]
Fotki	Photo sharing, video hosting, photo contests, journals, forums, flexible privacy protection, friend's feed, audio comments and unlimited custom design integration.	01998-10-01October 1998	&100000000016325650000001,632,565	Open	&100000000000053670000005,367[103]
Fotolog	Photoblogging. Popular in South America and Spain	02002 2002	&1000000002000000000000020,000,000[104]	Open	&100000000000011940000001,194[105]
Foursquare	Location based mobile social network	02009 2009	&1000000001000000000000010,000,000[106]	Open	&10000000000000625000000625[107]
Friends Reunited	UK based. School, college, work, sport and streets	02000-07-01July 2000	&1000000001900000000000019,000,000[108]	Open to people 13 and older	&1000000000001023100000010,231[109]
Friendster	General. Popular in Southeast Asia. No longer popular in the western world	02002 2002	&1000000009000000000000090,000,000[110]	Open to people 16 and older.	&10000000000000979000000979[111]
Frühstückstreff	General	02001-07-01July 2001	&1000000000001480000000014,800[citation needed]	Open	&100000000012531550000001,253,155[112]
Fubar	dating, an "online bar" for 18 and older	02007-10-01October 2007	&100000000012000000000001,200,000[113]	Open to people 18+	&100000000000094760000009,476[114]
Gaia Online	Anime and games. Popular in USA, Canada and Europe. Moderately popular around Asia.	02012	&1000000002352366300000023,523,663[115]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000010710000001,071[116]
GamerDNA	Computer and video games	02006-09-21September 21, 2006	&10000000000310000000000310,000[117]	Open	&1000000000002288700000022,887[118]
Gather.com	Article, picture, and video sharing, as well as group discussions	02012	&10000000000465000000000465,000[119]	Open	&100000000000039740000003,974[120]
Gays.com	Social network for LGBT community, Guide for LGBT bars, restaurants, clubs, shopping	02008-05-16May 16, 2008	&10000000000100000000000100,000[121]	Open, Global	&1000000000007466400000074,664[122]
Geni.com	Families, genealogy	02007-01-16January 16, 2007	&1000000001500000000000015,000,000[123]	Open	&100000000000058150000005,815[124]
GetGlue	Social network for entertainment	02008-10-28October 28, 2008	&100000000020000000000002,000,000[125]	Open	&100000000000041240000004,124[126]
Gogoyoko	Fair play in Music - Social networking site for musicians and music lovers	02012		Invite only while in beta	&10000000000119272000000119,272[127]
Goodreads	Library cataloging, book lovers	02006-12-01December 2006		Open	&100000000000025430000002,543[128]
Goodwizz	Social network with matchmaking and personality games to find new contacts. Global, based in France.	02010-10-01October 2010	&10000000000110000000000110,000[129][130]	Open	&10000000000214214000000214,214[131]
Google+	General	02011-06-28June 28, 2011	&10000000100000000000000100,000,000[132]	General, Open	NA (Alexa only records data for Second-level domains)
GovLoop	for people in and around government	02012			&1000000000009185200000091,852[133]
Grono.net	Poland	02012	&100000000020000000000002,000,000[citation needed]	Open	&100000000000029580000002,958[134]
Habbo	General for teens. Over 31 communities worldwide. Chat Room and user profiles.	02000-08-01August 2000	&10000000200000000000000200,000,000[135][136][137]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000065450000006,545[138]
hi5	General. Popular in India, Mongolia, Thailand, Romania, Jamaica, Central Africa, Portugal and Latin America. Not very popular in the USA.	02003 2003	&1000000008000000000000080,000,000[139]	Open to people 13 and older.	&10000000000000443000000443[140]
Hospitality Club	Hospitality	02012	&10000000000328629000000328,629[141]	Open	&1000000000003825800000038,258[142]
Hotlist	Geo-Social Aggregator rooted in the concept of knowing where your friends are, were, and will be.	02012	&1000000000008000000000080,000[143]	Open	&1000000000002824100000028,241[144]
HR.com	Social networking site for Human Resources professionals	01999 1999	&10000000000194000000000194,000[145]	Open	&1000000000006004800000060,048[146]
Hub Culture	Global influencers focused on worth creation	02002-11-01November 2002	&1000000000002000000000020,000[147]	Invite-only	&10000000000515308000000515,308[148]
Hyves	General, mostly popular in the Netherlands.	02004-09-01September 2004	&1000000001009700000000010,097,000[149]	Open	&10000000000000658000000658[150]
Ibibo	Talent based social networking site that allows to promote one's self and also discover new talent. Most popular in India.	02012	&100000000035000000000003,500,000[151]	Open	&10000000000000695000000695[152]
Identi.ca	Twitter-like service popular with hackers and software freedom advocates.	02012	&10000000000395695000000395,695[citation needed]	Open	&100000000000038220000003,822[153]
Indaba Music	Online collaboration for musicians, remix contests, and networking.	02012	&10000000000350000000000350,000[154]	Open, Global	&1000000000005506200000055,062[155]
IRC-Galleria	Finland	02012	&10000000000505000000000505,000[156]	Open to Finnish speaking people 12 and older	&100000000000033020000003,302[157]
italki.com	Language learning social network. 100+ languages.	02012	&10000000000500000000000500,000[158]	Open, Global	&1000000000002993900000029,939[159]
Itsmy	Mobile community worldwide, blogging, friends, personal TV-shows	02012	&100000000025000000000002,500,000[160]		&10000000000206437000000206,437[161]
iWiW	Hungary	02002-04-14April 14, 2002	&100000000040000000000004,000,000[162]	Invite-only	&10000000000000532000000532[163]
Jaiku	General. Microblogging. Owned by Google	02006-02-01February 2006		Open to people 13 and older	&1000000000001566100000015,661[164]
Kaixin001	General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users	02012		Open to the General Public	&10000000000000183000000183[165]
Kiwibox	General.	01999 1999	&100000000024000000000002,400,000[166]	Open to people 13 and older	&10000000000104563000000104,563[167]
Lafango	Talent-Focused media sharing site	02012		Open, Global	&10000000000151301000000151,301[168]
LaiBhaari	Marathi social networking	02010 2010	&10000000000250000000000250,000	Open	&1000000000001950300000019,503[169]
Last.fm	Music	02002 2002	&1000000003000000000000030,000,000[170]	Open	&10000000000000552000000552[171]
LibraryThing	Book lovers	02005-08-29August 29, 2005	&100000000013000000000001,300,000[172]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000082430000008,243[173]
Lifeknot	Shared interests, hobbies	02012		Open to people 18 and older	&10000000000602117000000602,117[174]
LinkedIn	Business and professional networking	02003-05-01May 2003	&10000000120000000000000120,000,000[175]	Open to people 18 and older	&1000000000000001300000013[176]
LinkExpats	Social networking website for expatriates. 100+ countries.	02012		Open, Global	&100000000016684840000001,668,484[177]
Listography	Lists. Autobiography	02012		Open	&10000000000197009000000197,009[178]
LiveJournal	Blogging. Popular in Russia and among the Russian-speaking diaspora abroad.	01999-04-15April 15, 1999	&1000000001756497700000017,564,977[179]	Open (OpenID)	&1000000000000007600000076[180]
Livemocha	Online language learning	02012	&100000000050000000000005,000,000[181]	Open	&100000000000040790000004,079[182]
LunarStorm	Sweden	02012	&100000000012000000000001,200,000[183]	Open	&1000000000006587400000065,874[184]
Makeoutclub	General	01999-08-09August 9, 1999		Open	&10000000000723381000000723,381[185]
MEETin	General	02012		Open	&10000000000173717000000173,717[186]
Meetup	General. Used to plan offline meetings for people interested in various activities	02012		Open to people 18 and older	&10000000000000739000000739[187]
Meettheboss	Business and Finance community, worldwide.	02012		Open	&10000000000107180000000107,180[188]
mixi	Japan	02000-10-25October 25, 2000	&1000000002432316000000024,323,160[189]	Open	&10000000000000140000000140[190]
mobikade	mobile community, UK only	02012		Open to people 18 and older	&100000000018517280000001,851,728[191]
MocoSpace	mobile community, worldwide	02012	&100000000030000000000003,000,000[192]	Open to people 14 and older	&100000000000036850000003,685[193]
MOG	Music	02012		Open to people 14 and older	&100000000000042210000004,221[194]
MouthShut.com	Social Network, social media, consumer reviews	02012		Open	&100000000000025450000002,545[195]
Mubi (website)	Auteur cinema	02012	&10000000000200000000000200,000	Open	&1000000000002564800000025,648[196]
Multiply	"Real world" relationships. Popular primarily in Asia.	02012	&1000000001000000000000010,000,000[197]	Open to people 13 and older.	&10000000000000382000000382[198]
MyAnimeList	Anime themed social community	02012	&10000000000160000000000160,000[199]	Open to people 13 and older	&100000000000060960000006,096[200]
MyHeritage	family-oriented social network service	02012	&1000000003000000000000030,000,000 [201]	Open	&100000000000029530000002,953[202]
MyLife	Locating friends and family, keeping in touch (formerly Reunion.com)	02012	&1000000005100000000000051,000,000[203]	Open	&100000000000014810000001,481[204]
My Opera	Blogging, mobile blogging, photo sharing, connecting with friends, Opera Link and Opera Unite. Global	02012	&100000000073000000000007,300,000[205]	Open	NA (Alexa only records data for second-level domains)
Myspace	General	02003-08-01August 2003	&10000000100000000000000100,000,000+[206][207]	Open to ages 13 and older.	&10000000000000131000000131[208]
myYearbook	General, Charity	02012	&1000000002000000000000020,000,000[209]	Open to age 13 and up & Grades 9 and up	&10000000000000851000000851[210]
Nasza-klasa.pl	School, college and friends. Popular in Poland	02012	&1000000001100000000000011,000,000[211]	Open	&1000000000004096100000040,961[212]
Netlog	General. Popular in Europe, Turkey, the Arab World and Canada's Québec province. Formerly known as Facebox and Redbox.[213]	02012	&1000000007000000000000070,000,000[214]	Open to people 13 and older	&10000000000000296000000296[215]
Nettby	Norwegian Community	02006-09-14September 14, 2006		Open	&100000000000027190000002,719[216]
Nexopia	Canada	02012	&100000000014000000000001,400,000[217]	Open to people 13 and older [218]	&1000000000002407100000024,071[219]
NGO Post	Non-Profit news sharing and networking, mainly in India	02012	&1000000000001500000000015,000[220]	Open	&1000000000007013400000070,134[221]
Ning	Users create their own social websites and social networks	0Error: Invalid time.2005 (Networks 2007)		Open to people 13 and older	&10000000000000273000000273[222]
Odnoklassniki	Connect with old classmates. Popular in Russia and former Soviet republics	02012	&1000000004500000000000045,000,000[223]	Open	&10000000000000104000000104[224]
OneClimate	Not for Profit Social networking and Climate Change	02012		Open to People of all ages and locations	&10000000000307773000000307,773[225]
OneWorldTV	Not for Profit Video sharing and social networking aimed at people interested in social issues, development, environment, etc.	02012		Open	&1000000002743422700000027,434,227[226]
Open Diary	First online blogging community, founded in 1998	01998 1998	&100000000050000000000005,000,000[227]	Open to people 13 and older	&1000000000003929000000039,290[228]
Orkut	General. Owned by Google Inc. Popular in India and Brazil.[229]	02004-01-22January 22, 2004	&10000000100000000000000100,000,000[230]	Open to people 18 and older, (Google login)	&10000000000000106000000106[231]
OUTeverywhere	Gay/LGBTQ Community	02012		Open	&10000000000329887000000329,887[232]
Passportstamp	Travel	02012		Open	&10000000000366598000000366,598[233]
PatientsLikeMe	Online community for patients with life-changing illnesses to find other patients like them, share their data with others, and learn more about their condition to improve their outcome.	02006 2006	&10000000000109587000000109,587[234]	Open to people 13 years and up	&1000000000005796200000057,962[235]
Partyflock	Dutch virtual community for people interested in house music and other electronic dance music	02001-11-10November 10, 2001	&10000000000321125000000321,125	Open to people 18 years and up	&100000000000072260000007,226[236]
Pingsta	Collaborative platform for the world's Internetwork Experts	02012		Invite-only, only Internet Experts	&100000000016689550000001,668,955[237]
Pinterest	Online pinboard for organizing and sharing things you love	02011 2011		Invite-only	&1000000000000008800000088[238]
Plaxo	Aggregator	02012	&1000000001500000000000015,000,000[239]	Open	&100000000000015330000001,533[240]
Playahead	Swedish, Danish teenagers	02012		Closed	&1000000000006308100000063,081[241]
PureVolume	Connecting indie music bands and listeners, through music sharing and social networking	02003 2003		Open	&1000000000002082200000020,822[242]
Playfire	Computer and video games			Open to people 13 and older	&1000000000006255500000062,555[243]
Playlist.com	General, Music	02012		Open to people over 13	&100000000000043400000004,340[244]
Plurk	Micro-blogging, RSS, updates. Very popular in Taiwan	02012		Open	&100000000000010720000001,072[245]
Present.ly	Enterprise social networking and micro-blogging	02012		Open	&100000000048937110000004,893,711[246]
Qapacity	A a business-oriented social networking site and a business directory	02012		Open to people 16 and older	&1000000000009684700000096,847[247]
Quechup	General, friendship, dating	02007 2007		Open to those over 16	&10000000000150757000000150,757[248]
Qzone	General. In Simplified Chinese; caters for mainland China users	02012	&10000000480000000000000480,000,000[249][250]	Open to the general public	NA (Alexa only records data for second-level domains)
Raptr	Video games	02012		Open	&1000000000002566400000025,664[251]
Ravelry	Knitting and crochet	02012	&100000000018144600000001,814,460[252]	Open	&100000000000033870000003,387[253]
Renren	Significant site in China. Was known as 校内 (Xiaonei) until August 2009.	02012	&10000000160000000000000160,000,000[254]	Open	&1000000000000008300000083[255]
ResearchGate	Social network for scientific researchers	02012	&100000000010000000000001,000,000[256]	Open	&1000000000002309500000023,095[257]
ReverbNation.com	Social network for musician and bands	02012	&10000000000500000000000500,000[258]	Open to people 16 and older	&100000000000044220000004,422[259]
Ryze	Business	02012	&10000000000500000000000500,000[260]	Open	&1000000000001983900000019,839[261]
ScienceStage	Science-oriented multimedia platform and network for scientists	02012		Open	&1000000000002680400000026,804[262]
Scispace.net	Collaborative network site for scientists	02012		By invitation, but can request an invitation	&100000000012317950000001,231,795[263]
ShareTheMusic	Music Community. Sharing and listening to music for free and legally	02012		Open	&10000000000471712000000471,712[264]
Shelfari	Books	02006-10-11October 11, 2006		Open	&1000000000001968100000019,681[265]
Skoob	Collaborative social network for Brazilian readers	02009 2009	&10000000000420000000000420,000[266]	Open	&1000000000002760000000027,600[267]
Skyrock	Social Network in French-speaking world	02012	&1000000002200000000000022,000,000[268]	Open	&10000000000000437000000437[269]
Social_Life_(website)	Brazilian jet set and social elite world-wide	02008 2008	&10000000000550000000000550,000[270]	Invite-only	&10000000000154533000000154,533[271]
SocialVibe	Social Network for Charity	02012	&10000000000435000000000435,000[citation needed]	Open	&1000000000004192700000041,927[272]
Sonico.com	General. Popular in Latin America and Spanish and Portuguese speaking regions.	02012	&1000000001700000000000017,000,000[273][274]	Open to people 13 and older	&10000000000000507000000507[275]
SoundCloud	Repository of original music pieces and networking.	02012	&100000000010000000000001,000,000[276]	Open	&10000000000000374000000374[277]
Stickam	Live video streaming and chat.	02012	&100000000020000000000002,000,000[278]	Open	&100000000000027420000002,742[279]
StudiVZ	University students, mostly in the German-speaking countries. School students and those out of education sign up via its partner sites schülerVZ and meinVZ.	02012	&1000000001700000000000017,000,000[280]	Open	&100000000000013180000001,318[281]
Students Circle Network	A Social Network connecting students, teachers and institutions to course resources, study groups and learning spaces.	02010-12-01December 2010		Open	&10000000000605000000000605,000[282]
StumbleUpon	Stumble through websites that match your selected interests	02012	&1000000001060000000000010,600,000[283]	Open	&10000000000000108000000108[284]
Tagged	General.	02012	&10000000100000000000000100,000,000[285]	Open	&10000000000000281000000281[286]
TalentTrove	Online Talent Network	02012		Open	&1000000000002117700000021,177[287]
Talkbiznow	Business networking	02012		Open	&10000000000283770000000283,770[288]
Taltopia	Online artistic community	02012		Open	&1000000000005275900000052,759[289]
Taringa!	General	02012	&1000000001100000000000011,000,000[290]	Open to people 13 and older	&10000000000000137000000137[291]
TeachStreet	Education / Learning / Teaching - More than 400 subjects	02012		Open	&1000000000006149200000061,492[292]
TermWiki	Learning / Languages / Translation - 1.2m terms in more than 1300 subjects	02010-05-01May 2010		Open	&1000000000001618200000016,182[293]
The Sphere (social network)	A Private Online Social Luxury Network with Exclusive Personalized Services	02008-12-01December 2008	&100000000000013000000001,300[294]	Invite-only	&100000000019017930000001,901,793[295]
TravBuddy.com	Travel	02005 2005	&100000000015880000000001,588,000[296]	Open to people 18 and older	&1000000000001178900000011,789[297]
Travellerspoint	Travel	02002 2002	&10000000000310000000000310,000[298]	Open	&1000000000001148600000011,486[299]
tribe.net	General	02012		Open	&100000000000057060000005,706[300]
Trombi.com	French subsidiary of Classmates.com	02012	&100000000044000000000004,400,000[301]		&100000000000072830000007,283[302]
Tuenti	Spanish-based university and High School social network. Very Popular in Spain	02012	&1000000001200000000000012,000,000[303]	Invite-only	&10000000000000730000000730[304]
Tumblr	General. Micro-blogging, RSS	02007 2007		Open	&1000000000000004600000046[305]
Twitter	General. Micro-blogging, RSS, updates	02006-07-15July 15, 2006	&10000000300000000000000300,000,000[306]	Open	&100000000000000090000009[307]
Vkontakte	Social Network for Russian-speaking world including former Soviet republics.	02006-09-01September 2006	&10000000110578500000000110,578,500[308]	Open	&1000000000000004400000044[309]
Vampirefreaks.com	Gothic and industrial subculture	01999 1999	&100000000019310490000001,931,049[310]	Open to users 13 and over	&100000000000075770000007,577[311]
Viadeo	Global Social Networking and Campus Networking available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese	02012	&1000000003500000000000035,000,000[312]	Open	&10000000000000710000000710[313]
Virb	Social network that focuses heavily on artists, including musicians and photographers	02007 2007		Open	&1000000000002247400000022,474[314]
Vox	Blogging	02012		Open	&100000000000013190000001,319[315]
Wakoopa	For computer fans that want to discover new software and games	02012	&10000000000100000000000100,000[citation needed]	Open	&100000000000094200000009,420[316]
Wattpad	For readers and authors to interact & e-book sharing	02012		Open	&1000000000001100800000011,008[317]
Wasabi	General. UK-based.	02012		Open	&1000000000009518800000095,188[318]
WAYN	Travel and lifestyle	02003-05-01May 2003	&1000000001000000000000010,000,000[319]	Open to people 18 and older	&100000000000029740000002,974[320]
WebBiographies	Genealogy and biography	02012		Open	&10000000000734214000000734,214[321]
WeeWorld	Teenagers - 10 to 17	02012	&1000000003000000000000030,000,000[322]	Open to ages 13 and older.	&100000000000087290000008,729[323]
Wellwer	Community without borders, where sharing is everything.	02011-09-01September 2011		Open to people 13 years and older	&10000000000716594000000716,594[324]
WeOurFamily	General with emphasis on privacy and security	02012		Open, subscription-based	&10000000000685337000000685,337[325]
Wer-kennt-wen	General	02012		General	&10000000000000441000000441[326]
weRead	Books	02007-06-01June 2007	&100000000040000000000004,000,000[citation needed]	Open	&1000000000008023300000080,233[327]
WiserEarth	Online community space for the social justice and environmental movement[328]	02012	&1000000000004500000000045,000[329]	Open to people 16 and older	&1000000000007714300000077,143[330]
Wooxie	Blogging and micro-blogging	02012		Open	&10000000000169489000000169,489[331]
WorkCollaboration	Users create their own social websites and social networks	0Error: Invalid time.2009 (Networks 2011)		Open to all people. Private and professional network.	&10000000000000273000000273[332]
WriteAPrisoner.com	Site networking inmates, friends, family	02000-09-01September 2000	&1000000000006600000000066,000[333]	Open to people 18 years and older	&10000000000252188000000252,188[334]
Xanga	Blogs and "metro" areas	Unknown	&1000000002700000000000027,000,000[335]	Open	&10000000000000768000000768[336]
XING	Business (primarily Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland))	02012	&1000000001110000000000011,100,000[337]	Open	&10000000000000260000000260[338]
Xt3	Catholic social networking, created after World Youth Day 2008	02012		Open	&10000000000136804000000136,804[339]
Yammer	Social networking for office colleagues	02008 2008		Must have company email	&100000000000037690000003,769[340]
Yelp, Inc.	Local Business Review and Talk	02012		Open	&10000000000000182000000182[341]
Zoo.gr	Greek Web Meeting point	02004 2004	&10000000000890000000000890,000[342]	Open	&100000000000080570000008,057[343]
Zooppa	Online Community for Creative Talent (host of brand sponsored advertising contests)	02012	&1000000000006000000000060,000[344]	Open to people 14 and older[345]	&1000000000008855500000088,555[346]