MyYearbook

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Hoover's Company Profiles:

Insider Guides, Inc.

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Contact Information
Insider Guides, Inc.
280 Union Square Dr.
New Hope, PA 18938
PA Tel. 215-862-1162

Type: Subsidiary
On the web: http://www.myyearbook.com

Insider Guides, doing business as myYearbook.com, is changing the way you see your classmates. Its website allows classmates to create online profiles that can be linked to fellow students. Like other social networking sites, members can select friends from among classmates and "autograph" each other's pages, as well as upload photos and post messages. The company also offers virtual currency, called Lunch Money, which visitors can use to play social games and purchase virtual gifts for friends. The company was founded in 2005 by siblings Catherine and David Cook, who at the time were high school students, aged 16 and 18, respectively. Insider Guides is a subsidiary of Quepasa Corporation.

Officers:
CEO: Geoff Cook
CFO: Jim Bugden
CTO: Gavin M. Roy

Competitors:
Facebook
Memory Lane
Myspace

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myYearbook
Type Social network service
Founder(s)

Geoff Cook
David Cook

Catherine Cook
Headquarters New Hope, PA, USA
Revenue 20 million USD [1]
Owner Quepasa Corporation[2]
Slogan where new friends meet.
Website myyearbook.com
Alexa rank positive decrease 1,583 (May 2012)[3]
Advertising Banner ads, custom ads
Registration Required
Available in Portuguese
Launched April 2005

MyYearbook is a social networking service founded in 2005.

Contents

History

myYearbook is a social discover website and provides the opportunity to interact and meet new people.

myYearbook was initially created by two high school students, Dave and Catherine Cook, and their older brother Geoff, during Spring Break of 2005. Catherine persuaded Geoff, who founded EssayEdge.com and ResumeEdge.com from a dorm in 1997, to invest in their project. At the launch of the site in April 2005, Dave was a junior and Catherine was a sophomore; the project was initially activated at Montgomery High School, in suburban New Jersey where they attended. The site was created entirely by developers in India.[4]

In 2008, myYearbook partnered with casual game developer Arkadium to bring Flash based games to the site. The games incorporate Lunch Money, the myYearbook virtual currency. Lunch Money earned playing games are used elsewhere on the site.

In April 2009, the site added the Meebo instant messaging client to the site in order to provide real time chat.

In November 2009, myYearbook launched Chatter, a real-time stream that incorporates media sharing and gaming to help bring members together. Games you can play inside the stream include Ask Me, Rate Me and 2 Truths and a Lie. These games incorporate mechanics that help myYearbook members meet each other. By April 2010 the site reported the Chatter feature surpassed 1 million posts per day.[5]

In January 2010, myYearbook rolled out a new site design aimed to appeal to an older demographic. Of note is the "winning" site design was chosen through crowd-sourcing its members.[6]

In May 2010, myYearbook launched an iPhone/iPod Touch and Android application designed to bring the Chatter real time feed to mobile devices.[7]

In July 2011, myYearbook announced it had agreed to be acquired by Latino social networking site Quepasa for $100 Million In Cash And Stock.[8] The purchase was finalized on November 11, 2011.[9]

In December 2011, myYearbook launched an iPad app in an attempt to reach the tablet market. [10]

As of Monday 4th June 2012, It is due to be rebranded as Meet Me. This change is due to the fact that the name 'Yearbook' means more about meeting friends from the past and 'Meet Me' will give the meaning that your meeting new friends. [11]

Virtual economy

myYearbook includes a virtual economy through which members earn and spend "Lunch Money," the myYearbook virtual currency. Lunch Money enables the purchasing of gifts which members can send to each other. Lunch Money can also be donated by members to their favorite charity through the Causes application.

Revenue model

myYearbook derives its revenue from three sources: advertising, virtual-currency sales and monthly subscriptions.[12] Advertising makes up two-thirds of its revenue, with the other sources making up the rest. It has an established sales office based in New York City and Los Angeles.

In February 2010, myYearbook reported the company ended 2009 with a $20 million dollar run rate.[1] In December 2010, myYearbook partnered with Viximo service to provide better gaming opportunities for users.[13]

Financing

In 2006, myYearbook raised $4.1 million from US Venture Partners and First Round Capital. In 2008, myYearbook raised $13 million dollars in a Series B round.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "myYearbook Revenue at $20 Million Annually and Growing". Mashable. http://mashable.com/2010/02/26/myyearbook-revenue. 
  2. ^ http://gigaom.com/2011/07/20/latino-social-network-quepasa-swallows-myyearbook/
  3. ^ "Myyearbook.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/myyearbook.com. Retrieved 2012-05-02. 
  4. ^ Stefanie Olsen (2007-08-16). "The secrets of a teen's Internet success". cnet. http://news.cnet.com/The-secrets-of-a-teens-Internet-success/2008-1038_3-6202845.html. 
  5. ^ "myYearbook's Chatter Reaches 1 Million Posts Per Day". Myyearbook.com. 2010-04-12. http://www.myyearbook.com/press/release27/. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  6. ^ "MyYearbook Rolls Out Its Crowdsourced Redesign". TechCrunch. http://techcrunch.com/2010/01/28/myyearbook-redesign/. 
  7. ^ "myYearbook: Dating & Fun for Friends and Singles of Any Sex. Start Flirting Now for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad on the iTunes App Store". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-09-07. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id372648912?mt=8. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  8. ^ "MyYearbook bought by Latino social network Quepasa.". TechCrunch. http://techcrunch.com/2011/07/20/facebook-for-latinos-quepasa-buys-myyearbook-for-100-million-in-cash-and-stock/. 
  9. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/quepasa-completes-purchase-myyearbook-14929433#.TsVqn3HSpLo
  10. ^ December 19 2011. "myYearbook Launches iPad App." http://www.marketwatch.com/story/myyearbook-launches-ipad-app-2011-12-19
  11. ^ May 16th 2012. "My Yearbook soon to be Meet Me." http://www.myyearbook.com/apps/meetmecomingsoon
  12. ^ "myYearbook Forgoes Freemium, Reports Virtual Goods Success". Socialtimes. 18 August 2009. http://www.socialtimes.com/2009/08/myyearbook-forgoes-freemium-reports-virtual-goods-success/. Retrieved 10 May 2010. 
  13. ^ http://venturebeat.com/2010/12/16/viximos-game-service-reaches-100m-users-on-dozens-of-smaller-social-networks/
  14. ^ "Teen Social Network myYearbook Gets $13 Million". TechCrunch. http://techcrunch.com/2008/07/29/teen-social-network-myyearbook-gets-13-million. 

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