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Former Facebook competitor Hi5 gets bought

Once a dominant social network along with Facebook and Myspace, the social gaming site has been acquired by Tagged for an undisclosed amount.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney
2 min read

Another social network knocked out by Facebook has been forced to sell itself.

Former social network and now social gaming site Hi5 has been acquired by fellow social network Tagged for an undisclosed amount.

Sharing the market with the likes of Facebook and Myspace, Hi5 was once a popular and heavily trafficked social network. But just as Myspace increasingly saw more people jump ship to Facebook, so too did Hi5's users start to abandon the service.

In the face of Facebook's growing dominance, Hi5 transformed itself into a social gaming site a couple of years ago. But despite the new approach and an influx of capital, the company was forced to lay off staff earlier this year and bring in a new CEO, according to TechCrunch.

And just as Myspace was sold this past June, Hi5 now finds itself with a new parent and higher hopes.

"Tagged is the perfect home for Hi5 as it continues to prove itself as a major contender in social," Alex St. John, former president and chief technology officer of Hi5, said in a statement. "At Hi5 my colleagues and I recognized the unanswered opportunity to connect new people online, and I'm thrilled that Tagged is making strides to fulfill this mission."

Tagged itself is looking to boost business with the addition of Hi5.

The deal calls for Tagged to acquire Hi5's Web site and user population, although some employees may come aboard as well. The Web sites of both companies will remain up and running, and users will be able to access both. Tagged CEO Greg Tseng told The Wall Street Journal that the deal will double the total number of active users to 20 million and add around 200 million registered users.

"An opportunity of this magnitude is uncommon and exciting as the addition of Hi5 immediately doubles our overall active user base and grows combined registered users past 330 million members." Tseng said in a statement. "Hi5's global footprint complements Tagged's and instantly builds on our leadership position as the world's first, largest and best social network to meet new people."

A growing company, Tagged started the year with 50 employees and is now ending it with 200.