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Screenshot  Screenshot of Hi5's sign up/log in | |
Type of site | Social networking service |
|---|---|
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Owner | The Meet Group |
| Founder(s) | Ramu Yalamanchi |
| URL | hi5 |
| Commercial | yes |
| Registration | Required |
| Launched | June 27, 2004 |
| Current status | Active |
hi5 is an American social networking service based in San Francisco, California. It is owned by The Meet Group.[1][2]
Users can create a profile and provide personal information including interests, age, photos, and hometown. Users can also send friend requests via email to other users. When a person receives a friend request, they may accept or decline it, or block the user altogether. If the user accepts another user as a friend, the two will be connected directly or in the 1st degree. The user will then appear on the person's contact list and vice versa. Some users opt to make their profiles available for everyone on hi5 to view. Other users exercise the option to make their profile viewable only to those people who are in their network.
In a 2009 redesign, hi5 added features oriented toward gaming and entertainment.[3] The site featured over 200 games in a variety of genres, and was adding games at a rate of 2-3 per week.[4] It is targeted to users that are interested in flirting, dating, and making new friends.[5] In order to join hi5, users must be age 18 or older.[3] Due to hi5's shift in focus to social gaming, Comscore reclassified hi5 as an online gaming site in early 2011. According to comScore, hi5 ranked as the 6th most trafficked online gaming site.[6]
- ^ Raice, Shayndi (December 14, 2011). "Tagged acquires Facebook competitor Hi5". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Malik, Om (July 22, 2007). "Social Network Hi5 gets $20 million". Gigaom. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ a b Kale, Vivek (November 25, 2016). Big Data Computing: A Guide for Business and Technology Managers. CRC Press. ISBN 9781315354026.
- ^ Shaul, Brandy (April 23, 2011). "Hi5 gaining momentum among top online/social gaming sites; should Facebook be concerned?". Games.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
- ^ Nations, Daniel (December 19, 2019). "What Is Hi5, and Is It Different from Facebook?". Lifewire.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (April 20, 2010). "hi5 Becomes a Top Ten Online Game Site". Venturebeat.