werkenntwen

Werkenntwen ( wkw ) is a social network, the (former who-knows -wen.de GmbH ) is operated with headquarters in Cologne from the werkenntwen GmbH. It belongs fully to RTL interactive since February 2009. In March 2013, this was, as far as the number of active users ( unique visitors ), with nearly 2.1 million to place 11 of the social networks in Germany. If the operator RTL interactive mid-2014 no investor for the social network place, the platform is shut down.

History

Founded who - knows-who on October 3, 2006 by Fabian Jager and Patrick Ohler while studying at the University Computational Koblenz-Landau. After half a year we had 50,000 members and the millionth user was registered on 2 December 2007. The two founders gave the Board from September 1, 2010.

Farms is the offer of the Werkenntwen GmbH, was involved in the February 2008, RTL interactive GmbH to 49 percent. The proportion was increased in February 2009 to 100 percent. The climax had the platform in 2010. In February 2012, who-knows -wen.de belonged according to IVW exam with about 63 million unique visits to the ten most popular German-language websites. After the two founders made ​​the management and left the company on September 1, 2010 had - in August 2010 had who - knows-who still over 163 million page visits ( unique visits ) - went to use the platform back significantly, recorded in October 2013 the site is still 23 million monthly visits.

With a re-launch in October 2013 they tried to halt the downward trend, and introduced new features and a new design. In the first four months after the relaunch of the site visits collapsed by more than 40 percent of 23 million, about 13 million.

On March 28, 2014 RTL Interactive announced plans to exit from werkenntwen. The company justified the move with massive loss of range of the portal. It was currently talking to potential investors. From a closure of the platform 40 employees would be affected. The massive loss of user werkenntwen is due, as with other social platforms, especially on the success of the American online network Facebook.

Functions

  • The number of acquaintances and their names are visible within werkenntwen.
  • Function to search for other individuals, schools, clubs or groups, using the profiles stored in interests.
  • Status Publications What are you doing? , Which can be made visible outside of the platform.
  • New: What you 're doing entries? Acquaintances and all the members as well as new acquaintances
  • Guestbook.
  • [ Blog ]
  • Formation of groups on a topic or join to already existing groups.
  • Create photo albums and upload photos.
  • " Photo - Tagging": single people in photos can be linked to their user accounts.
  • Contacting other members.
  • " Report " links at various places on the page with which the operators can be made to rule violations by other users or groups.
  • "Ignore": Certain people may be placed on an ignore list. A subsequent contact or view of the profile is then no longer possible.
  • " My site for other ": The user can make their profile as show, would at werkenntwen see how other people there ( Views for " people I know ", " people I do not know " and " people I ignore ").
  • Invite others who want to join werkenntwen.
  • Class Finder: former or current high school or college enter into the profile and all the people sorted by vintage find, who have already registered for this high school or college.
  • Club: Clubs entered in the profile, and other members, supporters, fans and alumni meet; Associations with groups connect.
  • Related enter into the profile.
  • Celebrity profiles.
  • Animal Profiles: Create photo albums, animal book, Pets cuddle, cuddle factor, are Möger.
  • Knowers: Members, answer other users' features. There are currently around 100 knowers.
  • Wkw mobile portal ( mobil.wer - knows -wen.de ).
  • IPhone App from who - knows-who.
  • Android App of who - knows-who.
  • Windows Phone App of who - knows-who.
  • BlackBerry App from who - knows-who.
  • Games of werkenntwen.
  • Create profiles for favorite electrical appliances.

User

Werkenntwen is aimed at users aged 14 years, but also has many older members. The majority of users came initially from Rhineland -Palatinate, Hesse and Saarland. Since 2009 is werkenntwen in Austria and Switzerland, with identical functions is available.

In February 2012, had werkenntwen 9.6 million registered users, of which, according to Comscore in March 2013 just under 2.1 million actually active on the platform.

Privacy and Security

The specified by the users in the registration process e- mail address will not be displayed to other. Members also have the ability to set their privacy settings, by whom they would like to receive news and who can see what profile information: " Only myself ," " Only people I know " and " All within who-knows - whom ". In external search engines profiles are not displayed by who-knows -wen.de generally, but this can be viewed only after login on the platform. The user can select in its privacy settings, whether he wants to have regional advertising and advertising that suits him played out. Otherwise it will be general advertising. Since 2010, the username and password via an SSL - encrypted connection to be transferred. On its own safety side of the operator informed of security functions and points out how to set up secure his profile.

Study on the Privacy and Security

A study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology with state of the end of August 2008, examines the various aspects relating to the security of the platform who - knows-who.

The study pointed out commended that the log out of who - knows-who is easy and simple. The deletion of data can be done easily with a time delay. However, text entries remain outside the profile exist, even if the associated user name is changed to deleted users.

The privacy settings are easy to find and clearly arranged. Help texts it easier for the inexperienced user to navigate.

The access control differs between direct contacts ( first degree) and all users. Many personal user data can consequently only be released for these two groups of people. The user can decide to release no data however. Negative noticed in the study that neither the list nor the groups to which the user belongs, subject to this access control. For example, through the circuit of the contacts would be an identification of the user is possible even if he does not want this. About the group names could be closed under certain circumstances, for example, to a religious affiliation. In the meantime, however, the possibility was created to hide groups.

Images are externally accessible, while uploading is pointed with a warning to those facts.

Youth protection

Young people under the age of 18 automatically have more restrictive privacy settings preset as adult users: To contact data such as road or telephone number will be displayed to anyone - this information must be actively enabled. Adolescents can be linked only with their consent on photos. They can also receive messages only from their contacts. The operators have set up a parental control page with information for parents and teachers as well as rules and advice for young people on safe handling of who - knows-who. who - knows-who is a regular member in the Voluntary Self-Monitoring of Multimedia Service Providers Association ( FSM) and participate in the funded by the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection and the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Awareness Campaign "watch your web, "the children and young people to raise awareness about the handling of their data on the Internet. In March 2009, who - knows-who signed a voluntary commitment of conduct with other German competitors. The commitment of conduct includes actions, youth protection, data privacy and consumer protection in the German services regulate uniform and more transparent to users. The voluntary declaration includes, among other things, a commitment to comprehensive options for privacy settings for users, providing direct redress for violations of the rules of the community, the possibility of other users to " ignore " as well as educating users by substantial evidence within the platform, for example to the different privacy settings.

Criticism

It is not provided pseudonymous use of the platform. Some users, however, bypass the having of giving a false name at login, even if this behavior is contrary to the terms and conditions of the operator and can lead to exclusion from the platform.

In the standard configuration, some data of a new profile for all users of the platform are shared. This does not apply to youth members. The privacy settings of minors are set such that only direct contacts view their profile content, and they can write. Adult users of the risks to privacy are not aware, be inadvertently called for transparent users.

It is possible if you know one image URL, this call from any web browser out, without being a member of the platform.

Launched in October 2013 redesign of the platform was criticized. Within the network were formed groups, some with thousands of members who are very critical grappled with the "new wkw ". Were particularly critical of the optical approximation to facebook and google , whereby the independent character of werkenntwen who would have gone " fine contrast to facebook " largely lost as well as the complexity and the nested structure of the new system, by which the user friendliness, formerly the great strength of werkenntwen, have suffered. In addition to that, the new software appeared immature, for months had system errors and it always came back to malfunction what users angered addition.

Financing

  • Display marketing by IP Germany
  • Cooperation, social media integrations, individual concepts
  • Local ads
  • Wkw - Mobile: In October 2009, the mobile tariff of the social network who-knows -wen.de launched in cooperation with the telecommunications company Vodafone
  • Wkw parties
  • Wkw shop

Awards

  • Online Star in category Social Communities (October 2008)
  • Werkenntwen was in 2012 as " Website of the Year 2012" in the category " Community Portals & Social Networks " in the categories " Best Website " and " popular site " award
  • The user support of werkenntwen was "Champion 2012 Service " award in 2012 as
  • Award of the company blog, " wkw blog" with a shortlist nomination at the German price for online communication
  • Werkenntwen won in 2013 as a result of the award " Most Popular Website of the Year " in the category " Community Portals & Social Networks "
Slogan Computational visualistics K.I.Z. Fraunhofer Society
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