Userplane Webchat Soars to Number One on Friendster

Achieves New Status as Most Adopted App on Popular Social Networking Website
Graphing Social Patterns West 2008

Userplane announced today that its award-winning Webchat 2 is now the number one application on the Friendster open platform. Webchat 2 is a next-generation chat software that enables real-time text messaging and streaming voice/video communication. Userplane made the announcement at Graphing Social Patterns West 2008, where the company is a participating sponsor and exhibitor.

Easily integrated and fully scalable, Userplane’s Webchat 2 facilitates rapid deployment of centrally hosted chat rooms on web communities such as Friendster. Userplane joined the Friendster Developer Program in December, and since the number of users adopting the chat app has steadily increased. Known simply as “Chat” in the Friendster’s widget library, Userplane’s app was used by nearly 800,000 members last month.

“That Webchat 2 has been so widely and enthusiastically adopted on the Friendster open platform in such a short period of time is truly remarkable, and clearly establishes its position as a leading chat solution in the social networking market space,” said Michael Jones, CEO of Userplane and Senior Vice President AOL. “We’re very pleased to be associated with the Friendster Developer Program, which gives developers the freedom and flexibility to seamlessly integrate our robust chat solution into their websites and add a new revenue stream in the process.”

The Webchat 2 suite includes Minichat — a lightweight, fully skinnable chat output pane — and Userplane Money, a revenue-sharing platform that pays when it is used. In addition to Webchat 2, Userplane is launching its own apps within the Friendster application directory to support audio and video chatting for all users.

“The early and rapid success of Userplane’s Chat application further demonstrates the power of Friendster’s open platform, and how quickly a great app can be embraced by a global audience of over 60 million users,” said David Jones, vice president of global marketing at Friendster.

About Userplane

www.userplane.com

A wholly owned subsidiary of AOL, Userplane is the world’s premier communication platform for online communities. The company’s hosted applications enable instant community and communication for websites of any scale and audience. The combination of instant and elegant with robust and powerful has made the platform a must-have for thriving sites worldwide – supporting millions of daily users. Founded in 2001 by longtime partners Michael Jones, Nate Thelen, and Javier Hall, Userplane is a diverse and talented team headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif.

About Friendster

With more than 60 million members worldwide, Friendster is a leading global online social network. Friendster is focused on helping people stay in touch with friends and discover new people and things that are important to them. Online adults, 18 and up, choose Friendster to connect with friends, family, school, social groups, activities and interests. Friendster prides itself in delivering a clean, user-friendly and interactive environment where users can easily connect with anyone around the world. Friendster has a growing portfolio of patents granted to the company on social networking, with more expected over the next several months. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Friendster is backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures and individual investors. For more information, visit: www.friendster.com.
Contacts

Edge Communications, Inc. for Userplane
Ken Greenberg, 818-990-5001
ken {at} edgecommunicationsinc(.)com
or
The Hoffman Agency for Friendster
Lerin O’Neill, 408-975-3037
loneill {at} hoffman(.)com