RRSS News Online Newspaper ng mga Pinoy
Social networking service Friendster has officially return to bring real connections online, the platform served as precursor to social giants like Facebook and was once in the list of the world’s biggest social networking site.
Friendster has announced on its website that users can add friends by simply tapping their phones together. “No ‘suggested strangers’ – your network is built from real connections.”
The company has likewise promised an experience that is free from advertisements, spam accounts, and algorithm-driven feeds. Moreover, they said that they won’t sell user data.
According to a Says.com story, the revived social media is based on the concept that users cannot connect with anyone online unless they have met them in person.
In other word, the two individuals must meet physically and initiate “the tap”; and if a user has not met someone face-to-face, that individual simply does not exist within their network.
The social network service is currently available exclusively on iOs devices (also: “the tap” is a feature available only to iOs).
In addition, connections are designed to be temporary. Therefore, the connection will gradually fade if users do not meet again within a year – and will only reconnect if they repeat the physical tap.
The company was founded by Jonathan Abrams and launched in 2022, but was shut down in 2011 after admitting that “it’s a Facebook world.”
It was relaunched as a social entertainment site a year later where users will be able to play games and listen to music; also shut down in 2015.
The strategic move to bring the social site back is backed under the leadership of Mike Carson.
“The idea that the only way to connect as friends on Friendster is by tapping phones was because it would promote people meeting in person. It would also verify that if you are connecting to real people, and people that you actually want to connect with.” #
Source: Manila Standard, Says.com, The Straits Times, ABS-CBN
