People-search engine Wink has joined forces with Reunion.com, a hybrid people-search/social networking site, to create one giant hub for finding people you once knew but forgot to keep in touch with. The two companies have merged and will be launching a new website (and brandname) in early 2009, which the sites say will feature a total of 700 million user profiles.
Wink allows users to simultaneously search for profiles across social networks including MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and a number of others. The site originally launched in 2005 as a people-powered search engine, and reinvented itself as a people search in 2006. In September the site reported a search index of over 500 million user profiles, though some of these seem to lead to profile pages that either don’t work or are blank.
Reunion.com combines the elements of people search with a social network. The site, which raised $25 million last year, allows users to quickly join the network by entering basic contact information, and then charges for more advanced (and snoopy) features. Premium accounts allow users to see who has searched for their profiles, and have become popular enough that the site operates at a profit and claims 50 million registered members.
The two companies have a history together, as Reunion and Wink forged a “multi-year, multi-million dollar agreement” in 2007 giving Reunion members access to Wink’s people search.
There’s a definite need for social network profile aggregators, especially as users find their online identities scattered across multiple social networks and blogs. But if the Wink/Reunion hybrid is going to become a mainstream search engine (a “Google for people search”), it badly needs to focus on the accuracy of its results. Hundreds of millions of profiles may sound like a lot, but when many of them are virtually useless the numbers really don’t mean much.
can’t remember the last time I went to reunion.com… or ever…?
of the 8 results for including location – only 2 of them were actualy me – a 25% success rate, and old school friends probably wouldn’t know what town I lived in now – or know which of the 8 were really me. interesting idea but
Everyone is on Facebook and you can search for classmates, form groups. Don’t need anything else. Bye bye Wink.com
This is a really good point. Social networking sites these days make it so incredibly easy to find the people you went to school with. I’m sure that when my next reunion happens, I’ll probably see the event on Facebook, before I even get an invite through the mail. This site may have a niche with the older generations, but the usefulness will die out very fast.
Is classmates.com in the deadpool yet? Circling?
Tough business, don’t really see a niche. But goodluck.
Congrats to Wink for the liquidity event
As technology advances, these records will be stored and made available in easier to access ways by the authorities themselves.someone can doing it simply speeds up the process.