Type of site | Social networking service |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997; 28 years ago (1997) |
| Headquarters | , |
| Owner | Urban One |
| Current status | Redirected toBlackPlanet |
AsianAve orAsian Avenue was asocial networking service that focused onAsian Americans. The platform was shut down and the URL now redirects to its sister site,BlackPlanet.
Originally namedAsianAvenue (orAsian Avenue), the site was launched on July 21, 1997[1] by co-founders Benjamin Sun, Peter Chen, Grace Chang, Michael Montero, and Calvin Wong. By 1998,The New York Times described it as "unusually successful" despite being "run out of an apartment", having hit five million page views from 50,000 users.[2]
Members were politically active, protesting anMSNBC headline for the1998 Winter Olympics reading "American beats out Kwan", referring to U.S. Olympic teammatesTara Lipinski andMichelle Kwan.[2] In 1999, members protested an ad forSKYY vodka showing a partly dressed white woman being served by a woman in aMandarin dress andchopsticks in her hair,[3] which the protesters said perpetuated racial stereotypes.[4] After some 300 postings on Asian Avenue were forwarded to SKYY, the company agreed to stop using the ad.[3]
The site received over 70,000 unique visitor hits in August 2000.[5] At its peak, there were over 2 million users with more than 5000 online at any time.[citation needed]Robert X. Cringely claimed in 2000 that Asian Avenue had more members thanBlackPlanet, a Community Connect sister site.[6]
Fine Line Features chose the site for an exclusive interview with ChineseNBA starYao Ming to promote its documentaryThe Year of the Yao. One writer characterized it "mainly an Internet dating site"[7] In 2003,Darrell Hamamoto used an interview on the site to attract male talent for his adult filmSkin to Skin, using the "unheard of" pairing of an Asian-American male performer with Asian-American woman.[8]
At one point the site made various previously free features available only to premium users, which hurt the site's popularity. On October 31, 2005, the website relaunched the social network features.[citation needed] As of April 2007, there were 1.4 million registered users with fewer than 100 online at any given time.[citation needed]
Partners include party promoters (Synergy), film festivals (Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, Asian American International Film Festival), media (AngryAsianMan.com, AZN TV) and many more. Music artists, such asNotorious MSG,Far*East Movement, and Magnetic North have gained popularity from their exposure on AsianAve.com.[original research?] In 2010,Monster.com announced a co-branded partnership with Asian Avenue. Based on a small questionnaire members filled out when signing up for a membership, Monster generated a list of potential job openings and interests, which was displayed after users signed into AsianAvenue.
In October 2007, U.S. presidential candidateBarack Obama created profiles on AsianAve as well as sister sitesBlackPlanet,MiGente.com andGlee.com.[9]
AsianAvenue allowed users to see who visited their profiles, in contrast toFacebook, where browsing is entirely private. Members can view a list of members that have looked at their site on their main profile page.
The site was shut down and the URL is now redirected to its sister site,BlackPlanet.
