ICQ claims to be the first to incorporate IM. Since then, several others have entered the market. Friendster was one of the first such sites to launch. Social-networking sites dedicated to making connections between people based on recommendations from friends have become popular during the past year. ICQ is jumping on a bandwagon well under way.
#WEB ICQ COM FRIENDSHIP FREE#
The service is free and is based on the same advertising-driven business model the ICQ instant-messaging service has. Once invited to join ICQ Universe, new members can invite additional members to join and recruit new friends, as they like. While in the lobby, guest users also can chat with other guest users as well as established universe members and find volunteer "recruiters" to invite them to join the ICQ universe.
People who wish to join the ICQ Universe but haven't been invited by a friend can register as "guest users" and join in the service's virtual "lobby." There, they can browse member profiles and quickly submit a request to join the ICQ Universe. Membership in the ICQ Universe is "by invitation only." Before someone from an existing buddy list can be added to the community, he or she must sign up to be an ICQ Universe member. "It's a nice, safe way to meet people and instant message them, because you already know who is connected to who," said Yael Givon, director of marketing at ICQ. It essentially lets members view their friends' buddy lists and examine the relationships and profiles of these new individuals before contacting them. Customers are already able to browse the extensive directory, but ICQ Universe allows them to check out people whom their friends and colleagues already know. The purpose of ICQ Universe is to enable members of ICQ's community to meet new people in a more secure and safe way, the company said. ICQ's established IM business already serves more than 8 million active daily members and has 175 million registered users worldwide. ICQ Universe combines the standard features of ICQ instant messaging, with a social-networking twist. The company hopes that the new service will provide users with a more secure way of meeting people in the ICQ community and will increase registration. On Thursday, the popular instant-messaging service added a social-networking element to its service that enables people to meet and chat with their friends' friends. America Online's ICQ has joined the social-networking craze.
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