Qzone
|
Type of site
|
Social network service |
|---|---|
| Available in | Chinese |
| Owner | Tencent |
| Website | qzone |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | required |
| Launched | 2005 |
| Current status | Active |
Qzone (Chinese: QQ空间) is a social networking website which was created by Tencent in 2005. It allows users to write blogs, keep diaries, send photos, listen to music, and watch videos. Users can set their Qzone background and select accessories based on their preferences so that every Qzone is customized to the individual member's taste. However, most Qzone accessories are not free; only after buying the "Canary Yellow Diamond" can users access every service without paying extra.
According to a 2009 report published by Tencent, Qzone was surpassing other social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace in China. Qzone is rapidly growing: as of November 2013, it already had 623.3 million users and by 2014 it had 645 million. 150 million Qzone users update their accounts at least once a month. This makes Qzone one of the most active communities in the whole industry.
Qzone is divided into different functions. It includes homepage, status, blog, background music, albums, personal information, shared documents, friend visits, friend show, video show, and games. There are many third-party applications connected with Qzone. Some of the applications charge a fee while the other ones are free of charge. Normal Qzone users can choose among these applications while Qzone users with "Canary Yellow Diamond" can use the applications either for free or at a discounted rate. Among these third-party applications, the most famous ones are QQ farm, QQ ranch, QQ restaurant, and QQ Fantasy Submarine. The technology of Qzone lays on many aspects. Qzone does not have many international users. Only Chinese version of Qzone is available.
Qzone started in April 2005 as an interior service within the Tencent company. The name was originally "Little Home Zone" in Tencent company. In 2008, Qzone was taken by Zhu Liang. This year, QQ registered users have reached 490 million, and about 200 million are active users. Qzone is positioned by Tencent as virtualization products along with QQ Show and QQ pet.
At the very beginning, the reference object of Qzone is not a social network, but blog products. "In 2005, Chinese blog market has been the rise of this market. Sina blog and MSN Space are two major competitors that we have. But Tencent did not have such power on media propagation, only relying on contents has no advantage. MSN spaces have a random combination of functional modules. The function of Space Decoration in Qzone was similar to it, and later on, we found the commercial value of it." Until now, the "Yellow Diamond System", Space Decoration still dominate. Qzone gradually transformed from a personal space, where users can customize blogs, keep diaries, post photos, watch videos and listen to music, to one of the China’s biggest social network.
...
Wikipedia