Tuenti

URL	http://www.tuenti.com
Type of site	Social network service
Registration	Yes
Available language(s)	Spanish, Catalan, Basque, Galician, English[1]
Launched	January 2006
Current status	Active (Beta and Invite only)

Tuenti is a Madrid-based, invitation-only private social networking website that has been referred to as the "Spanish Facebook."^[2] Tuenti, pronounced in Spanish, sounds like Twenty in English. The name, however, actually comes from "tu enti[dad]," meaning "your entity."^[3] The site is targeted at the Spanish audience, and is currently accessible only to those who have been invited.

Tuenti features many tools common to social-networking sites. It allows users to set up a profile, upload photos, link videos and connect with friends, recently a chat application has been added. Many other utilities, such as the ability to create events, are also offered. Unlike similar social networking sites which feature banner advertisements, Tuenti has opted out of these traditional forms of "noisy" and obstructive advertising.^[4]

Now Google Zeitgeist's 2009 listed the Tuenti as in Third fastest-rising global search. Google's 2008 Zeitgeist report listed Tuenti as the year's fourth fastest-rising global search term,^[5] and Alexa Internet ranks the site as the sixth most visited in Spain.^[6] It is currently estimated that there are more than 5 million users, making it the country's most popular social network.^[7] Dentzel stated that he intends to focus on Spanish users more before possibly expanding to other countries. The site targets users in specific regions to improve its click-through rates, which have reached as high as 40%.^[8]

[edit] History

Tuenti was founded in 2006 by Zaryn Dentzel, Kenny Bentley, Adeyemi Ajao, Felix Ruiz and Joaquín Ayuso de Pául.

Dentzel, CEO, and Bentley, the lead programmer, came to Spain after having worked in social networking in the United States.^[9] Bentley is credited with coding most of the original platform from a small office in the north of Madrid in the Spring of 2006, while Dentzel led the project and was involved in much of the design and strategy.^[10]

The organization now has employees from countries around the world, including Spain, the U.S., Germany, Poland, the UK and Portugal.^[11]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Tuenti home page
• Zaryn Dentzel - Conference (Spanish)
• Zaryn Dentzel - Conference (Spanish)
• Zaryn Dentzel interview (Spanish)
• Zaryn Dentzel keynote address at IE University

This website-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e