Badoo

Infobox Website
name =
logo =


caption =
url =http://www.badoo.com
commercial = Free , but with a charge for higher prominence
type =Social network service
language =English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
registration =Yes
owner =Badoo Ltd. City Business Centre, 25 Lower Road, London, SE16 2XB
author =
launch date = 26 May 2003
"(relaunched September 2007)"
current status =Active
revenue = 15 million users

Badoo is a multi-lingual, London based, social networking website. It offers users the ability to connect with people at a local and global level, allowing them to share photos and videos, create "reportages" of their lives, and promote themselves and their work. Their "philosophy," which they have trademarked, is "I am here".

Launched in May 2006 (although the URL existed as a web portal since 2003), the site now has over 14 million registered users, [cite web |url= http://www.badoo.com |title= Badoo.com |accessdate=2007-10-22 ] and is one of the top 100 visited sites on the net, according to Alexa Internet. [cite web |title= Alexa Internet report on Badoo|url=http://www.alexa.org/data/details/main?url=badoo.com ] It is also one of the top ten community websites in Europe. [cite web |title= Skyrock Network the Dominant French Social Networking Site. Comscore, September 19, 2007|url=http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1735 ] In September 2007, Badoo re-launched the site, promising users "upgraded features and innovative new tools." [cite web |title= The next Generation of Badoo shocks Europe. Yahoo Business News September 25, 2007|url=http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070925/20070925006606.html?.v=1]

Unlike other social networking services, Badoo does not incorporate advertising in any part of the site, thus a user's profile contains only user-generated content. It generates income through a "Rise Up" feature which allows users to pay to have their profile given more prominence on the site for a limited time. 20% of Badoo's 14 million users access this function once a month. [ [http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/digitalcontent/2008/03/elevator_pitch_why_badoo_wants.html Elevator Pitch: Why Badoo wants to be the next word in social networking] , Mark Sweney , The Guardian, December 24 2007 , Accessed March 2008. ]

Timeline

*2003: URL registered as a web portal site
*May 2006: Launched in current form
*September 2007: Badoo re-launched
*Dec 2007: Badoo named No.2 in Google Zeitgeist fastest rising search terms of 2007 (only below iPhone)
*Dec 2007: Named Best Community Website in France and Spain
*Jan 2007: Finam invests $30 million into Badoo
*Feb 2008: Badoo re-launches site again with new features including photo tagging and home page news feed.
*Jul 2008: Badoo is totally unavailable from South Korea

References

External links

* [http://badoo.com/ Badoo Home page]
* [http://www.rapidtvnews.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=1970&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1966&hn=rapidtvnews&he=.com Badoo is No 3 social networking site in France] Rapid TV News, October 2007