The leading Dutch social network Hyves was just acquired by TMG (Telegraaf Media Groep) for an undisclosed sum (Update – December 2022: The company Hyves seems to be no longer in business and we therefore deactivated the link).
This Dutch social network, which was founded by Koen Kam, Floris Rost van Tonningen and Raymond Spanjar, is hugely popular in the Netherlands. Launched a few years ago in 2004, the social network has grown to an immense 10.6 million members already, acting as a key social point online for many people in the country.
Founded just 8 months after Facebook, the Hyves team is battling it out against this US-based global social media platform, as well as online networks like MySpace. The team is currently based in Amsterdam.
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Unfortunately I think Facebook will “destroy” most of these smaller social networks out of europe. I’ve heard rumors, that the biggest social network in Poland is also for sale…