Faceparty

Faceparty
Web address faceparty.com
Commercial? Yes
Type of site
 Online Community
Registration Yes
Available in English
Owner I Blame Television Ltd
Created by Andrew Bamforth
Launched Autumn 2000
Alexa rank
 negative increase 133,440 (April 2014)[1]

Faceparty is a UK-based social networking site allowing users to create online profiles and interact with each other using forums and messaging facilities similar to email. In 2006 the site had six million users,[2] but by 2007 its popularity was declining.[3]

History

Faceparty was owned by Anarchy Towers Ltd.[4] In March 2008, Faceparty was reclaimed by I Blame Television Ltd, after closing down CIS Internet Ltd the assets being transferred. It was also announced that all advertising had been removed in a bid to become less corporate, and that staff levels would fall from 18 to 4.

In mid July 2006, Sony BMG struck a short-lived partnership with Faceparty, allowing its artists to be promoted to the social network's members on an exclusive basis, with competitions, free music downloads, and other promotions planned. This partnership was cancelled when Faceparty was re-claimed by the original owners.

In 2008, the site deleted the profiles of all users over the age of 36, claiming that older users posed a danger of sex offending.[5] Later that year the site was briefly shut down by its owners when users complained over unfulfilled promises of "free cool tools".[4]

Paid services

Faceparty is free to join, with a yearly fee for users who wish to send more than five messages per day.[2] For a larger fee, users of the site aged 18 or over can gain access to the site's adult content.[2]

Controversy

In 2006, Faceparty was censured for running a banner advertisement that told purchasers of Blue Skin clothing it would ensure they "got laid", following a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority from a member of the public, who strongly objected to the message the banner was projecting to Faceparty's younger internet surfers.[6]

In June 2008, three men were sentenced to jail at the High Court in Paisley for sexual abuse of a 13-year-old schoolgirl who they met and communicated with on Faceparty.[7] On 5 November 2008, three men pleaded guilty at the Edinburgh Sheriff Court to various crimes involving indecent contact with a 14-year-old girl they had met via the site.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Faceparty.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nico Hines (2006-04-09). "Just face it, girls: MySpace is like so totally over | Technology". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  3. ↑ Bobbie Johnson, technology correspondent. "Privacy warning for young users of networking sites | Technology". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/24/faceparty_zoo_trip/
  5. ↑ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/22/faceparty_bans_oldies/
  6. ↑ "ASA adjudication". Asa.org.uk. 2006-06-28. Archived from the original on 2006-09-25. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
  7. ↑ "Three jailed for sexual abuse of schoolgirl, 13". Edinburgh Evening News. 2008-06-12.
  8. ↑ Stephen Deal (2008-11-06). "Net predators sent explicit e-mails to girl". The Metro.

External links