More desperate than a guy who’s come to the last page of his little black book is social networking site Friendster, who recently provoked some anti-spam ire from those who say the company sent out what appeared to be an invitation from an actual Friendster member but instead was thinly disguised spam.
The mass emailing went out to individuals who were invited to join the network over a year ago but declined to do so. Friendster execs say the messages were aimed at those who never recieved the invite due to technical difficulties as well as folks not aware of the site’s new services such as blogs and video.
Stefanie Olsen’s story on CNET paints a different picture, that of a company desperate for a share of ad dollars that are going to competitors such as MySpace:
“Friendster, started in 2002, was one of the earliest online social networks, drawing people to build a profile, invite friends and meet friends of friends along the way. But the company’s popularity has waned as it has cast about for a good business model. At the same time, the popularity of social networks such as MySpace has exploded.”
Get the rest here, it’s a great read.
And speaking of nerdy and desperate, the Rubik’s Cube Championships were held this week. Contestants competed in a number of events and some solved the toy using one hand as well as their feet. Check out a photo gallery on the official Rubik’s site.
