As a Clicks2Customers German speaking employee I want to set my main blogging focus on the German, Austrian and Swiss online, Web 2.0 market. In my first post I want to write about the most discussed and most controversial social networking platform on the German speaking market, StudiVZ.net.

The StudiVZ network was founded in October 2005 by the two German students Ehssan Dariani und Dennis Bemmann.
StudiVZ is a network especially created for university students. It allows it members to register profiles in the categories student, graduate and university employee. Especially in 2006 StudiVZ grew massively in the number of registered members. In August 2007 StudiVZ claimed to welcome the 4^th million member.

Since January 2007 after many problems with the former StudiVZ management the company was sold to the “Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck” a huge German publisher which owns newspapers and magazines all over the world. There were never officially selling figured published but a spokesperson told the German magazine “Focus” a selling price “higher than 50 million but less than 100 million Euros.”

In the meanwhile StudiVZ employ 140 people and have launched a similar service especially designed for pupils called SchülerVZ.net. Besides this networks StudiVZ is trying to grow in different European markets. StudiVZ launched its service also in French, Spanish, Italian and Polish.

In my further posts I want to focus on the business model of StudiVZ, and also on the problems and scandals mainly produced by the former StudiVZ management and the lessons Facebook can learn from them.