Friends Reunited

A social networking platform that reunited people through shared schools, universities, workplaces, and other common connections.

Fatal mistake: Friends Reunited was the UK's first major social network — reuniting school friends. 15M registered users. ITV acquired for £175M ($176M) in 2005. Facebook launched UK 2005, MySpace UK grew. Friends Reunited charged £7.50/year to contact former friends — a fee model that made the service unattractive once Facebook was free. ITV sold Friends Reunited for £25M in 2009 — 14% of acquisition price. The site shut in 2012.