I bought Friendster for $30k – Here's what I'm doing with it
Source: Hacker News
Friendster was the first social network. It has a long history, but the website friendster.com went dead in 2015 and the company officially shut down three years later in 2018. That’s where this story begins.
The domain
The domain name friendster.com was registered on March 22 2002. After the site shut down in 2015, the domain did not resolve for eight years. In October 2023 it started resolving again, but it displayed a lot of popup ads. A WHOIS lookup showed the owner was a customer of park.io, a company I founded in 2014, and I had corresponded with him previously over email.
I reached out and expressed interest in buying the domain. He told me he had bought it for $8 k and was now earning ad revenue from the existing traffic. He had acquired it at gname.com, a site that hosts expired‑domain auctions from various Chinese/Asian registrars.
The domain had expired and was up for auction; he won it as the high bidder for $7 456. You can see the final auction page in the screenshot above.
He offered to sell it to me for $40 k. I offered $20 k, which he refused, but he said he would consider a deal involving other revenue‑generating domains or payment in Bitcoin.
We settled on a deal where I gave him $20 k in Bitcoin plus a domain that was generating about $9 k/year in ad revenue, and he transferred friendster.com to me. I became the owner of the only friendster.com domain in the world.
Building a new Friendster
I wanted to create something positive—a social network that felt enjoyable and useful. I built a basic social network on friendster.com and invited people from a waitlist, but the response was lukewarm. To get feedback, I posted about it on Hacker News:
One comment stood out:
The only way to connect as friends on Friendster is by tapping phones together. It promotes meeting in person and verifies that you’re connecting to real people you actually want to be friends with.
Inspired by that idea, I created an iOS app where adding a friend requires physically tapping phones together.
[Image: How you add a friend on Friendster]
Initially, the app allowed sign‑up only by tapping phones with an existing user, but Apple rejected it under Guideline 4.2 – Design – Minimum Functionality, stating the app was “intended for a small, niche set of users.” I revised the flow so anyone can sign up, but the only way to connect with others remains the phone‑tap mechanic.
After a review period of one to two months, Friendster is now live in the Apple App Store:
[Image: Friendster in the Apple App Store]
On making money
I don’t prioritize profit right now; I’d like the service to eventually cover its own costs. A paid plan for premium features may be introduced later.
What I’m building toward
- Friends of friends – Users can see friends of their friends and request to message them, encouraging real‑world meetups.
- Fading connections – If two friends go a full year without tapping phones, their link softens. This isn’t a punishment, just a gentle nudge that real friendships need in‑person interaction.
All of this revolves around the simple idea that genuine friendships happen when people meet face‑to‑face.
Why I’m doing this
My wife and I met on OkCupid; without it, I wouldn’t have my kids. Platforms that help people meet, fall in love, and build families genuinely change lives. If Friendster helps even a few people find that kind of connection, it will have been worth it.