Userplane

Userplane, acquired by AOL in August 2006, is a company that builds communication platform for online communities.

Many social networking websites, including MySpace, Date.com, Red Bull, and Honda, embed Userplane into their sitesFact|date=April 2008.

CEO Michael Jones, CTO Nate Thelen and CCO Javier Hall founded Userplane in 2001. The company is based in Santa Monica, Calif., just outside of Los Angeles.

In 2005, Userplane embraced an ad-supported business model – by launching a free version of its tools that could be embedded on web pages.

In 2007, the company launched a ad-revenue sharing program called Userplane Money. The company serves ads in its IM, chat and other online players, and splits the proceeds with any participating website that embeds Userplane tools.

History

Userplane was founded in 2001 – at the height of the dot-com bust.

The company started out building websites for clients, then joined the instant-messaging product business. In 2003, Userplane began selling its instant messenger. Later, Userplane focused on the Online dating segment.

In 2005, Userplane launched the free version of its social networking tools. Userplane provided core communication technologies and infrastructure to MySpace from its launch to the presentFact|date=April 2008.

In 2006, AOL acquired Userplane, at the same time that AOL was announcing its seismic shift from a subscription-based business to an ad-supported one.

External links

* [http://www.userplane.com Official Homepage]
* [http://onlinepersonalswatch.typepad.com/news/2008/03/userplane-micha.html CEO Michael Jones Interview, March 2007]