Affinity Labs
{{Infobox website
| name = Affinity Labs Inc.
| logo =
| company_type = Public
| foundation = 2006
| location_city = San Francisco, California
| location_country = U.S.
| key_people =
| homepage = {{url|affinitylabs.com}}
| revenue =
| screenshot =
| caption =
| registration =
| launch_date =
| current_status = Defunct
| language = multilingual
| alexa =
| website_type =
}}
Affinity Labs was a company that built social networking sites for niche groups such as firefighters, police officers, nurses and the Armed Forces.{{cite web|url=https://venturebeat.com/2008/01/04/just-in-monster-buys-community-site-affinity-labs-for-61m/|title=Monster buys community site, Affinity Labs, for significant $61M - VentureBeat - News - by Matt Marshall|work=VentureBeat|date=4 January 2008 }} In January 2008, Affinity Labs was merged into Monster.com in a $61 million transaction.{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_7889340|title=Monster buys S.F. Web operator Affinity for $61 million|work=mercurynews.com|date=5 January 2008 }}
Affinity Labs sites have over a million registered members, as of January 2008. PoliceLink, aimed at law enforcement personnel, is one of Affinity Labs' most active sites with over 717,000 unique visitors per month.{{cite web|url=http://www.quantcast.com/policelink.com|title=Policelink.com Traffic and Demographic Statistics by Quantcast|work=quantcast.com|access-date=2008-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018030426/http://www.quantcast.com/policelink.com|archive-date=2012-10-18|url-status=dead}} Other sites include: SalesHQ, ArtBistro, TheApple, FireLink, NursingLink, InsideTech, GovCentral, IndiaOn, Excelle, AllHealthCare, and the European communities, HMForces.co.uk, ProNurse, and WerPflegtWen.
In 2008 after Monster acquired Affinity Labs, it then bought a French military website, Armees.com for an undisclosed fee, then transferred the site to its Affinity Labs social networking vertical.{{cite web|url=http://www.armees.com/|title=Armees.Com - Actualité|work=armees.com}}
In March 2012, it shut down its European operations. Despite HMForces.co.uk{{cite web|url=http://hmforces.co.uk/|title=HMForces.co.uk : Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army, Royal Air Force|work=hmforces.co.uk}} being its most successful vertical, and having shared resources with Military.com, the global recession did not assist its longevity. HMForces.co.uk still has a strong presence on social networking sites{{cite web|url=http://www.facebook.com/pages/HMForcescouk/130036903806/|title=HMForces.co.uk|work=Facebook}} to this day, evidence of its popularity. Further references to this military vertical can be found on UK e-commerce sites,{{cite web|url=http://www.ukgear.com/Pages/Media-Centre/Product-Reviews/Military-Reviews/381-HM-Forces.co.uk---PT-1000-Review.html/|title=Media Centre - Product Reviews - Military Reviews at UK Gear|work=ukgear.com}} and there is also a HMForces blog{{cite web |url=http://hmforcescouk.blogspot.co.uk/ |title=Home |website=hmforcescouk.blogspot.co.uk}} still surviving despite it not being updated regularly. However most Affinity Labs social networking domains and content have been amalgamated into the Monster Worldwide global brand as of 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=44018 | title=Affinity Labs: Valuing Customer Growth - Case - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School }}
History
Affinity Labs was founded by Christopher Michel{{cite web|url=http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30486396|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819151224/http://investing.businessweek.com/businessweek/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=30486396|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 19, 2009|title=Affinity Labs, Inc.: Private Company Information - Businessweek|work=Businessweek.com}} in 2006 after he sold Military.com to Monster in 2004 for $40 million.
The Mayfield Fund{{cite web|url=http://www.mayfield.com/newsarticles/2006-12-04_mayfield_announces.htm |title=Mayfield Announcement|accessdate=2007-04-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070421210847/http://www.mayfield.com/newsarticles/2006-12-04_mayfield_announces.htm |archivedate=2007-04-21 }} and Trinity Ventures invested in Affinity Labs prior to its Monster Worldwide buyout.{{cite web|url=http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131001&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1091499&highlight=|title=Monster Worldwide - Bringing People Together to Advance Their Lives|work=corporate-ir.net}}
Between 2010 and 2014, the President of Military Advantage and Vice President of Monster Worldwide,{{cite web|url=http://www.military.com/aboutus/aboutusarticle/0,15897,teambios,00.html|title=Team|work=Military.com}} was former Navy Admiral Terry McCreary. He oversaw the military Affinity operations in Europe which had a product manager in London reporting to the former Admiral in the US.{{cite web|url=https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stewartathompson|title=Linkedin - Corporate Social Network}} However, this operation was closed down in 2012 after Monster unsuccessfully bid for a Recruiting Partnering Project (RPP) with the UK's Ministry of Defence. Capita won and signed the contract worth £44 million over 10 years.{{cite web|url=https://www.capita.com/news/news/2012/capita-signs-armed-forces-rpp-contract/|title=Capita signs armed forces RPP contract}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20080219115946/http://www.affinitylabs.com/ Official site]
- [http://www.hmforces.co.uk/ HMForces.co.uk]
{{Monster Worldwide|state=expanded}}{{Randstad Holding|state=autocollapse}}