Friendster, the social networking site, launched in 2002, is shutting down social networking features on May 31, 2011. According to TechCrunch, Friendster will be repositioned as a social entertainment site for people to play games and music. On May 31, Friendster will move to wipe out all photos, blogs, comments and groups uploaded or created by its users. The company will, however, keep all accounts alive, along with user friends lists, games details and basic profile information.
Users are strongly encouraged to log into their Friendster accounts and utilize the “Friendster Exporter App” to grab their photos and messages, before they are deleted.
The new owners, MOL, plans to convert Friendster into an online gaming site focused on “entertainment and fun”. The new Friendster should be going live in the coming weeks and will focus mainly on Asian users.
“The new Friendster will complement Facebook. Fifty percent of FB users don’t like games,” says a rep from Money Online. “We will service the other fifty percent.”
“Our improved site is designed to create new profiles that allow you to connect differently with people and do things differently than other networking sites. Basically, the new site will complement your existing online presence in other social networking sites.”