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| Friends Reunited website to close down | Friends Reunited website to close down |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Steve Pankhurst, one of the original founders of early social network Friends Reunited, has announced that the platform is to close. | |
| In an email he said it is still used by "a handful of members" but that it is "no longer used for the purpose it was built for". | In an email he said it is still used by "a handful of members" but that it is "no longer used for the purpose it was built for". |
| Friends Reunited launched in the year 2000 and was bought by broadcaster ITV for £175m ($250m) in 2005. | Friends Reunited launched in the year 2000 and was bought by broadcaster ITV for £175m ($250m) in 2005. |
| However it failed to keep pace with other social networks. | However it failed to keep pace with other social networks. |
| It was sold to comic publisher DC Thompson for only £25m in 2009 and Mr Pankhurst wrote in a blog post that the company had offered it back to him a couple of years ago. | It was sold to comic publisher DC Thompson for only £25m in 2009 and Mr Pankhurst wrote in a blog post that the company had offered it back to him a couple of years ago. |
| Pankhurst and business partner Jason Porter agreed to take on the site for a trial period to see if they could revitalise it. | Pankhurst and business partner Jason Porter agreed to take on the site for a trial period to see if they could revitalise it. |
| "It became clear that most of the actual users coming to the site were using it purely as a messageboard," wrote Mr Pankhurst. | "It became clear that most of the actual users coming to the site were using it purely as a messageboard," wrote Mr Pankhurst. |
| "And I also realised that of the more than 10m users registered, a lot had done so over a decade ago and hence their contact details were out of date. | "And I also realised that of the more than 10m users registered, a lot had done so over a decade ago and hence their contact details were out of date. |
| "But importantly - it hasn't covered its costs and like any business this can't continue indefinitely. | "But importantly - it hasn't covered its costs and like any business this can't continue indefinitely. |
| "Therefore, whilst it's sad, I believe it's time to move on and put Friends Reunited to bed." | "Therefore, whilst it's sad, I believe it's time to move on and put Friends Reunited to bed." |
| Mr Pankhurst is now planning to launch a new service called Liife. This will be somewhere for people to plot key moments in their lives, but only to share them with those who were involved rather than a wider audience. | Mr Pankhurst is now planning to launch a new service called Liife. This will be somewhere for people to plot key moments in their lives, but only to share them with those who were involved rather than a wider audience. |
| However, social media consultant Sue Llewellyn warned: "The market is incredibly crowded with all of these things and I honestly can't see there is space for it. | However, social media consultant Sue Llewellyn warned: "The market is incredibly crowded with all of these things and I honestly can't see there is space for it. |
| "I understand totally about the privacy side - privacy is a big thing and it's getting bigger - but I can't see a need for Liife. | "I understand totally about the privacy side - privacy is a big thing and it's getting bigger - but I can't see a need for Liife. |
| "I really wish them luck and I'm happy to eat my virtual hat if it works." | "I really wish them luck and I'm happy to eat my virtual hat if it works." |