Save Mark Zuckerberg?s Friendster Profile (or Your Own) Before It Dies

Friendster, the early leader in social networks, is about to close the door on profiles and reinvent itself as a gaming-and-music site that uses Facebook Connect.

Friendster was flying high in the early years of the last decade, but stumbled as MySpace and then Facebook overtook it domestically. Friendster found refuge outside the United States, particularly in the Philippines and Asia. The company, backed with $50 million in venture capital from high-profile firms, was sold to Malaysian company MOL Global in 2009 for about $40 million.

Now the company is saying it will delete users? photos and messages May 31. Users who want their information are encouraged to use an exporter application. Basic profiles and friend lists will remain to power the site?s transformation into an entertainment hub focused on games and music for Asian users.

It?s unlikely that Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, will avail himself of the exporting tool, but Zuck?s Friendster profile is a time capsule of the early heyday of social networking circa 2004.

There?s a few photos of the young hacker, but what?s most intriguing is his list of friends. There?s Sean Parker, the Silicon Valley bad boy who famously helped Zuckerberg retain control of his company. There?s Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who?s since left the company to found Asana. There?s the company?s original designer, Aaron Sittig.

Then there?s the former top dogs at Friendster: Scott Sassa, who at the time was the president and CEO of Friendster, who now is a president at Hearst Entertainment. Jim Scheinman, the former biz dev guy at Friendster, is there as well. Friendster tried to acquire Facebook for $10 million in 2004, but was rebuffed.

As for investors, well, there?s Ken Howery, a founder of PayPal who is also a partner with Peter Thiel at Founder?s Fund. The Founder?s Fund put $500,000 into Facebook in late 2004 for 10 percent of the company, which depending on your estimates, now equates to an investment worth $8 billion.

There?s a handful of women friends, and some odd accounts including Joe TheSlut and Old Exeter. There?s also, intriguingly for those who?ve seen the Social Network, a friend named Erica.

If Zuckerberg isn?t interested in saving this bit of history, perhaps the Smithsonian ought to.

Source: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/04/friendster-zuckerberg/

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