Company:The Meet Group

From HandWiki
The Meet Group, Inc.
MeetMe logo
Type of businessPublic
Type of site
Social network service
Available inEnglish, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Turkish, Malay, Indonesian.
Traded asNASDAQ: MEET
Russell 2000 Component
FoundedApril 2005; 18 years ago (2005-04) (as MyYearbook)
Headquarters
New Hope, Pennsylvania
,
United States
Founder(s)Geoff Cook
David Cook
Catherine Cook
Websitewww.themeetgroup.com
AdvertisingBanner ads, custom ads
RegistrationRequired
Current statusActive
Written inPHP

The Meet Group, Inc. (formerly MeetMe) (NASDAQ: MEET) is a social entertainment service founded in 2005. In 2011, myYearbook merged with Quepasa Corporation (QPSA: NYSE Amex). In June 2012, the combined company was renamed MeetMe, Inc. In April 2014, MeetMe rebranded to The Meet Group, Inc. and shares started trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol "MEET."

The Company is a portfolio of mobile social entertainment apps designed to meet the universal need for human connection. Its primary apps are MeetMe©, LOVOO©, Skout©, and Tagged©. The Company has millions of mobile daily active users. Its apps are available on iPhone, iPad, and Android in multiple languages. Through these apps, users can stream live video, send gifts, chat, and share photos. The Meet Group derives revenue from in-app purchases, subscriptions, and advertising. The Company has offices in New Hope, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin.

History

The myYearbook logo, which was used from 2005 to 2012.

Two high school students, Dave and Catherine Cook, created myYearbook during their Spring Break of 2005. They persuaded their older brother Geoff, who had founded EssayEdge.com and ResumeEdge.com from his Harvard dorm room, to invest in their project. At the launch of the site, 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.[1]

In 2008, myYearbook partnered with casual game developer Arkadium to bring Flash based games to the site. The games incorporated Lunch Money, the myYearbook virtual currency. Lunch Money earned playing games was usable 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 incorporated media sharing and gaming to help bring members together. Games playable inside the stream included Ask Me, Rate Me and 2 Truths and a Lie. These games incorporated mechanics to help myYearbook members meet each other. By April 2010 the site reported the Chatter feature surpassed one million posts per day.[2]

In January 2010, myYearbook rolled out a new site design aimed to appeal to an older demographic. myYearbook chose the final site design by crowdsourcing its members.[3] In May 2010, myYearbook launched an iPhone/iPod Touch and Android application designed to bring the Chatter real time feed to mobile devices.[4]

In July 2011, myYearbook announced it had agreed to be acquired by Latino social networking site Quepasa.[5] The purchase was finalized on November 11, 2011.[6] In December 2011, myYearbook launched an iPad app in an attempt to reach the tablet market.[7]

In June 2012, the company formed from the combination of myYearbook and Quepasa was renamed MeetMe. This change is because "Yearbook" means more about meeting friends from the past while "MeetMe" would convey the meaning of users making new friends, which is what the website is intended for.[8] The rebranding of the site proved to be successful.[9]

In June 2016, MeetMe announced that it would acquire Skout, a global mobile app for meeting new people.[10][11] The Skout deal closed in October 2016.[12]

On April 3, 2017, MeetMe Announces Closing of if(we) Acquisition and Rebrands to The Meet Group.[13]


In September 2017, Meet Group acquired German dating app Lovoo[14]

Revenue model

The Meet Group has transformed its business from being a predominantly advertising model to now generating the majority of revenue from user pay sources, which include subscriptions and in-app purchases for virtual gifts as part of its video live-streaming product. The company also derives revenue from advertising. In the second quarter of 2018, 60% of revenue was derived from user pay, versus 26% in the second quarter of 2017. Livestreaming video revenue has become an increasingly important component of revenue and growth and the product has been rolled out to all of the Company's main apps.

myYearbook derives its revenue from three sources: advertising, virtual-currency sales and monthly subscriptions.[15] 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 run rate.[16] In December 2010, myYearbook partnered with Viximo service to provide better gameplay opportunities for users.[17]

Financing

In 2006, myYearbook raised $4.1 million from US Venture Partners and First Round Capital. In 2008, myYearbook raised $13 million in a Series B round.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 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/2100-1038_3-6202845.html. 
  2. ↑ "myYearbook's Chatter Reaches 1 Million Posts Per Day". Myyearbook.com. 2010-04-12. http://www.myyearbook.com/press/release27/. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  3. ↑ "MyYearbook Rolls Out Its Crowdsourced Redesign". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/28/myyearbook-redesign/. 
  4. ↑ "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. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id372648912?mt=8. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
  5. ↑ "MyYearbook bought by Latino social network Quepasa.". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2011/07/20/facebook-for-latinos-quepasa-buys-myyearbook-for-100-million-in-cash-and-stock/. 
  6. ↑ "Technology and Science News - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/quepasa-completes-purchase-myyearbook-14929433#.TsVqn3HSpLo. Retrieved 2013-10-07. 
  7. ↑ "myYearbook Launches iPad App". Marketwatch.com. December 19, 2011. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/myyearbook-launches-ipad-app-2011-12-19. 
  8. ↑ "My Yearbook soon to be MeetMe". myyearbook.com. May 16, 2012. http://www.myyearbook.com/apps/meetmecomingsoon. 
  9. ↑ Catherine Cook (2012-07-01). "How to Rebrand A Social Network And Live To Tell About It". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/01/how-to-rebrand-a-social-network-and-live-to-tell-about-it/. Retrieved 2013-10-07. 
  10. ↑ "MeetMe To Acquire Skout". OnlinePersonalsWatch. June 26, 2016. http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2016/06/meetme-to-acquire-skout.html. 
  11. ↑ "Skout Acquisition Puts Meetme On A Path To $100M+ Annual Revenues". OnlinePersonalsWatch. August 10, 2016. http://www.onlinepersonalswatch.com/news/2016/08/skout-acquisition-puts-meetme-on-a-path-to-100m-annual-revenues-.html. 
  12. ↑ "MeetMe Announces Closing of Skout Acquisition". Business Wire. October 4, 2016. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161004005598/en/MeetMe-Announces-Closing-Skout-Acquisition-Preliminary-Revenue. 
  13. ↑ "MeetMe Announces Closing of if(we) Acquisition and Rebrands to The Meet Group". Business Wire. April 3, 2017. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meetme-announces-closing-acquisition-rebrands-201500402.html. 
  14. ↑ https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/20/german-dating-app-lovoo-is-acquired-for-70m-by-the-meet-group/
  15. ↑ "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. 
  16. ↑ "myYearbook Revenue at $20 Million Annually and Growing". Mashable. http://mashable.com/2010/02/26/myyearbook-revenue. 
  17. ↑ "Viximo's game service reaches 100M users on dozens of small social networks". VentureBeat. 2010-12-16. https://venturebeat.com/2010/12/16/viximos-game-service-reaches-100m-users-on-dozens-of-smaller-social-networks/. Retrieved 2013-10-07. 
  18. ↑ "Teen Social Network myYearbook Gets $13 Million". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2008/07/29/teen-social-network-myyearbook-gets-13-million. 

External links




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