View source for Company:Zorpia

{{Infobox website
| name           = Zorpia
| logo           = Zorpia.svg
| logo_size      = 215px
| screenshot     =
| collapsible    = Yes
| caption        = <div style="text-align:center;">[[Screenshot]] of Zorpia's homepage.</div>
| url            = {{URL|www.zorpia.com}}
| type           = [[Social:Social networking service|Social networking service]]
| registration   =
| language       = Multilingual (2)
| num_users      =
| owner          = Zorpia Co. Ltd.
| author         = Jeffrey Ng, [[Company:CEO|CEO]] of Zorpia Co. Ltd.
| editor         =
| launch_date    = {{Start date|2003|12|07}}
| revenue        =
| current_status = Active
| footnotes      = 
}}
'''Zorpia''' ({{zh|t=若比鄰}}) is a social networking service with customers in {{wipe|China}}. Zorpia is one of the few international social networks with a Chinese Internet Content Provider license.<ref name="TE">{{cite web |url=http://technorati.com/social-media/article/investors-turn-to-alternatives-to-facebook/ |title=Investors Turn to Alternatives to Facebook |date=February 14, 2013 |author=Lana Bandoim |publisher=Technorati |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref><ref name="B2C">{{cite web |url=http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/content-curation-mixed-with-linkedin-and-zorpia-0402730 |title=Content Curation Mixed With LinkedIn And Zorpia |date=February 10, 2013 |author= Dave Klawinski |publisher=Business 2 Community |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> The social networking site reports 2 million unique users per month and a total worldwide user base of 26 million.<ref name="TE"/><ref name="ZP">{{cite web |url=http://www.zorpia.com/info/about_us/ |title=Zorpia - About Us |publisher=Zorpia |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> Jeffrey Ng is the company's founder and [[Company:CEO|CEO]] of Zorpia. The privately funded company is based in [[Place:Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] and has 30 employees.<ref name="VB">{{cite web |url=http://venturebeatprofiles.com/company/profile/zorpia/ |title=Zorpia |publisher=VB Profiles |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>

Zorpia has been accused of [[Spamming|spamming]] misleading messages on behalf of people to their address books without their consent or knowledge as a way of acquiring email addresses.<ref name="sitereviews">{{cite web |url=https://www.techinasia.com/zorpia-spam-social-network/ |title=Zorpia: Is This a Real Social Network or Just a Spammer? |publisher=TechInAsia |date= Apr 21, 2013 |author= C. Custer |access-date=2015-06-21}}</ref> In 2012, PandoDaily wrote that Zorpia "has a dreadful spamming problem that it needs to fix fast."<ref name="pandodaily">{{cite web|last=Dao |first=Francisco |url=http://pandodaily.com/2012/08/07/friend-finding-social-network-zorpia-is-no-facebook-but-at-least-it-has-friends-in-china/ |title=Friend-Finding Social Network Zorpia Is No Facebook, But At Least It Has Friends In China |publisher=PandoDaily |date=2012-08-07 |access-date=2013-07-11}}</ref>

==History==
In December 2003, Jeffrey Ng founded Zorpia as a social networking service.<ref name="TE"/> Ng wanted it to be an online nation for people looking for new relationships.<ref name="DJ2">{{cite web |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/344001#ixzz2OG78LmER |title=Reinvigorating the social networking experience with Zorpia |date=February 21, 2013 |author=Andrew Moran |publisher=Digital Journal |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> While sites such as [[Company:Facebook|Facebook]] and [[Company:Twitter|Twitter]] are still banned in China, the ban has allowed Zorpia to use its ICP license in China to grow its user base.<ref name="TE"/><ref name="FL">{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Zorpia+Launches+Social+Network+Site+for+China%3B+Company+Plans+to...-a0149250207 |title=Zorpia Launches Social Network Site for China; Company Plans to Launch More Than 22 Social Networking Portals Worldwide |publisher=The Free Library |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> In 2009, the company partnered with [[Finance:Viximo|Viximo]], a distributor of software for virtual goods and currency.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kirsner |first=Scott |date=2009-11-08 |title=To build up real business selling virtual goods, firms change tactics |work=Boston.com |url=http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/11/08/to_build_up_real_business_selling_virtual_goods_2_mass_firms_change_tactics/?page=2 |access-date=2023-01-03}}</ref>

==Leadership==
Jeffrey Ng began his entrepreneurial career at the age of 13. He started his own Japanese music website and music search engine.<ref name="SM">{{cite web |url=http://www.studymode.com/course-notes/Interview-With-Zorpia-Ceo-Jeffrey-Ng-1097524.html |title=Interview with Zorpia Ceo, Jeffrey Ng |date=September 2012 |author=darlynd |publisher=Studymode |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref><ref name = timesofmalta>{{cite news | url = http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100530/letters/to-face-it-or-not-that-is-the-question.309651 | title = To face it or not - that is the question | newspaper = Times of Malta| access-date = November 21, 2013}}</ref><ref name = lupa>{{cite web | url = http://www.lupa.cz/clanky/jak-dnes-funguji-socialni-site/ | title = Jak dnes fungují sociální sítě? | publisher = Lupa | access-date = November 21, 2013}}</ref> He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with a degree in [[Computer engineering|computer engineering]].<ref name=timesofmalta/> Before building Zorpia, he worked for Expedia Inc. and at his university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications.<ref name="ZP"/><ref name="AN">{{cite web |url=http://altnews.asia/content/2011/02/25/zorpia-india-fastest-growing-social-network-2009-2010 |title=Zorpia India: Fastest Growing Social Network 2009-2010 |date=February 25, 2011 |publisher=altnews.asia |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>

==Services==
Zorpia's features include photo-sharing, social networking, messaging and profiles.<ref name="TE"/><ref name="DJ">{{cite web |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/344001 |title=Reinvigorating the social networking experience with Zorpia |date=February 21, 2013 |author=Andrew Moran  |publisher=Digital Journal |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> Zorpia has developed technology to analyze and predict compatibility between strangers, and has developed false identity prevention systems and user attractiveness discovery algorithms to help people make friends.<ref name = mmtimes>{{cite news | url = http://www.mmtimes.com/feature/itNtelecom/it05.htm | title =Websites struggle to attract local users | newspaper = The Myanmar Times | access-date = November 21, 2013}}</ref>

Zorpia is one of the few social networking sites permitted for use in China.<ref name = telegraph>{{cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/3352348/Can-u-speak-teenager.html | title = Can u speak teenager?| newspaper = The Telegraph | access-date = November 21, 2013}}</ref>

==Recognition==
[[Company:Alexa Internet|Alexa Internet]] ranks Zorpia among the 6,000 most-visited websites worldwide, with a global rank of about 4000 and with 40% users from {{wipe|India}} and 10% users from China.<ref name="AL">{{cite web |url=http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/zorpia.com |title=Zorpia.com |publisher=Alexa |access-date=April 8, 2013 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103014608/https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/zorpia.com |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="PD">{{cite web |url=http://pandodaily.com/2012/08/07/friend-finding-social-network-zorpia-is-no-facebook-but-at-least-it-has-friends-in-china/ |title=Friend-Finding Social Network Zorpia Is No Facebook, But At Least It Has Friends In China |date=August 7, 2012 |author=Hamish McKenzie |publisher=PandoDaily |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> Alexa also ranks Zorpia among the top 1000 most popular websites in India, with a rank of 933.<ref name="AL"/>

''Business Today India'' named Zorpia as the growth leader in the India market from 2009 to 2010.<ref name="AN"/>
Zorpia has been recognized by CNN, ''China Daily'', the biggest English-language newspaper in China, and it has been featured in Phoenix Television's ''A Date with Luyu''.<ref name="DJ"/><ref name="CNN">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNJrDKTkhBw |title=Blumberg Capital on CNN Money: SXSW Through a VC's Eyes |publisher=YouTube |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref><ref name="YO">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVPxZTJcP0c |title=《鲁豫有约》2008年02月19日 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref>

== Privacy issues ==

In September 2013, Zorpia was accused of cookie theft, mining and [[Spamming|spam]]. The company responded that the ratio of complaints to users is very small.

Zorpia typically asks for permission to connect to Facebook or Google account, then sends automatic emails on the user's behalf to his contacts inviting them to join to read the messages.  Even after deleting their Zorpia accounts, users see their contacts flooded with such emails on their behalf. One reporter testing how the email collection occurs found one of his test email accounts had a Zorpia account created without his acknowledgement; Zorpia claimed the user had signed up and claimed many of the undesirable behaviors are bugs.<ref name="sitereviews" /> Opinions on the best response to Zorpia emails are mixed with some users suggesting trying to unsubscribe and some suggesting using an email feature to block emails from Zorpia.<ref name="SuperUser">{{cite web |url=https://superuser.com/questions/540700/is-it-relevant-to-hit-the-unsusbscribe-button-in-an-email-which-looks-like-spam |title=Is it relevant to hit the unsusbscribe button in an email which looks like spam? |date= Jan 23, 2013 |publisher=superuser / StackExchange |access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref> One user reported even more spam activity after trying to unsubscribe.<ref name="GMailHelp">{{cite web |url=https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-topic/gmail/account-access-and-safety/mlizMsmYgek |title=Zorpia.com and granting Google Account Permissions without being notified |date= May 2, 2015 |publisher=GMail help forum |access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref> A suggestion is to review Google account settings.<ref name="GMailHelpReview">{{cite web |url=https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/gmail/hhHKT10ekpg |title=How do I cancel a zorpia account? |date= September 20, 2012 |publisher=GMail help forum |access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref>

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.toptenreviews.com/services/internet/best-social-networking-websites/zorpia-com-review/ Zorpia Review]
* [https://www.techinasia.com/zorpia-spam-social-network Hong Kong’s Zorpia: Is This a Real Social Network or Just a Spammer?]
* [http://avertscams.com/what-is-zorpia-scam-spam-or-safet-dating-site/ What is Zorpia: scam, spam or safe dating site?]

[[Category:Social networking services]]

{{Sourceattribution|Zorpia}}