SixDegrees.com
 | |
Type of site | Social network service |
|---|---|
| Owner | MacroView |
| Created by | Andrew Weinreich |
| Website |
sixdegrees |
| Alexa rank |
 19,062,047 (April 2015)[1] |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | 1997 |
| Current status | Defunct |
SixDegrees.com was a social network service website that lasted from 1997[2] to 2001 and was based on the Web of Contacts model of social networking. It was named after the six degrees of separation concept and allowed users to list friends, family members and acquaintances both on the site and externally; external contacts were invited to join the site. Users could send messages and post bulletin board items to people in their first, second, and third degrees, and see their connection to any other user on the site. It was one of the first manifestations of social networking websites in the format now seen today. Six Degrees was followed by more successful social networking sites based on the "social-circles network model" such as Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, XING, and Facebook.
People who confirmed a relationship with an existing user but did not go on to register with the site continued to receive occasional email updates and solicitations.
MacroView (later renamed to SixDegrees), the company that developed the site, was founded by CEO Andrew Weinreich and was based in New York City. At its height, SixDegrees had around 100 employees, and the site had around 3,500,000 fully registered members.[3] The site was bought by YouthStream Media Networks in 1999 for $125 million.[4]
References
- ↑ "Alexa Ranking". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ Boyd, Danah M; Ellison, Nicole B. (2007). "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship". Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 13 (1). Retrieved March 8, 2012.
- ↑ Kirkpatrick, David (2010). The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That Is Connecting the World. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 1439102120.
- ↑ Angwin, Julia (2009). Stealing MySpace: The Battle to Control the Most Popular Website in America. Random House. p. 52.
Further reading
- Bedell, Doug. "Meeting your new best friends: Six Degrees widens your contacts in exchange for sampling Web sites". The Dallas Morning News, October 27, 1998.