14 DAY TRIAL // After having created a reputation as one of the oldest and most reliable social networks, Friendster is looking to reinvent itself and will erase all user data on May 31st, 2011.
The network was founded in 2002 and, while it did create quite a buzz among Internet users at the time, it did not manage to keep up with its members' preferences and interests.
This is why the team who manages Friendster has announced all registered members that all personal data needs to be exported since the website will focus on 'entertainment and fun' starting with the summer of 2011.
Consequently, all photos, blogs, groups or comments will be removed to make room for the content that will be generated by the revamped site.
The good news is that all accounts will be preserved, together with the corresponding list of friends, games details and basic profile data.
All those who wish to export part or all of their personal content can use a dedicated application called the 'Friendster Exporter' that can manage the entire data or only their photos.
Friendster members who only need their images can choose to export them to Flickr or Multiply, depending on their preferences.
The Help section of the website contains a FAQ section where they describe their goals: “There will be new features that will leverage on your online activities and will enable you to connect with friends or engage new friends with similar interests.”
For those who are worried that the network will follow the downward spiral of MySpace, it is clearly stated that the new and improved Friendster will “complement your existing online presence in other social networking sites.”
In other words, Friendster will not try to compete with Facebook or the likes, but will merely look for its niche and stick to it.
Needless to say, only time can tell if they succeed, but one can only hope this pioneering social networking site will not get lost in mediocrity.