Word: friendsters
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Dates: during 2003-2003
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...Cordero uses it to find musicians to perform at parties he organizes in New York City. Sharon Engelstein uses it to network with other artists like herself around the country. And Mary Janacek used it to meet her boyfriend Eric, who is a teacher in Los Angeles. It is Friendster, an online network that grew wildly this year by helping people meet new friends and lovers by connecting them to their friends' friends, and their friends...
...christened friendster.com last March. The free site has already amassed more than 3 million registered users and become a regular habit for its hordes of mostly young, tech-savvy members. "It's totally a cult," says Janacek, 25, who adds that most of her friends already use the site. Friendster seems to be a hit with the suits as well. In late October it closed $13 million in financing--a bonanza in these frugal, post-dotcom days...
Predictably, Friendster quickly became a blind-date mecca. But it's not only for singles--and therein lies its genius. Until recently, joining a dating site came with heavy baggage rivaled perhaps only by teen tours and hair clubs. But joining Friendster is more like going to a massive party where it's easy to find your crowd. "It's networking in a very fun way," says Engelstein, 38, who is married...
There are plenty of other networking sites, such as Ryze.com Tribe.net and Meetup.com But only Friendster is so hot that it has inspired its own parody sites, including Introvertster, which bills itself as "an online community that prevents stupid people and friends from harassing you online." On Friendster itself, you'll find lots of "fakesters"--people who post false profiles of celebrities or pose as cartoon characters or even their pets. To keep things real, Abrams is diligently trying to purge the site of the fakes. He's also working on adding new features such as instant messaging between members...
...Friendster helped Abrams, 33 and still single, find a mate? "My social life is not that great right now," he confesses. Then again, who needs more friends when you already command a whole empire of Friendsters? --By Anita Hamilton