RockYou!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| RockYou! | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | San Mateo, California |
| Key people | Lance Tokuda and Jia Shen, co-founders |
| Services | software applications |
| Website | www.rockyou.com |
| Type of site | social networking |
| Available in | English |
| Current status | active |
RockYou! (originally known as RockMySpace), based in San Mateo, California is a publisher and developer of applications and other social network services. As of December, 2007 it is the most successful widget maker for the Facebook platform in terms of total installations.
[edit] History
RockYou! was founded in 2006 by Lance Tokuda and Jia Shen, who had worked together on a photo slide show project for software developer Iconix. The company's first product was also a slide show service, designed to work as an application widget The founders' former employer obtained a federal injunction against the company in late 2006 in connection with ownership of intellectual property, but the parties quickly settled the matter. Later applications included various forms of voice mail, text and photo stylization, and games.
In May, 2007, RockYou! was one of the companies invited to participate in F8, the event at which Facebook announced an open platform allowing third parties to develop and operate their own software applications on the Facebook website. Applications made for Facebook include Super Wall,[1] "X Me", Likeness, Vampires, Slideshows, Birthdays, MyGifts, and Emote, among others.[2]
RockYou's investors include Sequoia Capital[3], First Round Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Partech International.
As of late 2007 RockYou! was the principal competitor to Slide.com[4]. The company was also developing widgets for MySpace and Bebo.
[edit] References
- ^ Brad Stone. "In Facebook, Investing In a Theory", New York Times, October 4, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
- ^ Ellen Lee. "Widgets add flair to dress up Web sites", San Francisco Chronicle, September 3, 2007.
- ^ Sequoia Capital funds RockYou.
- ^ Gary Rivlin. "After Succeeding, Young Tycoons Try, Try Again", New York Times, October 28, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
[edit] External Links
- rockyou.com - official website
