The Odnoklassniki website was launched in 2006. Throughout its existence, the resource has become popular not only among Internet users, but also occupies a leading position in terms of monthly audience coverage. According to statistics, today the site has more than 10 million visitors per day. The creator and one of the owners of the social network is Albert Popkov.
Who is Albert Popkov
Albert Popkov is a web developer, two-time winner of the "For his contribution to the development of the Russian Internet" award. Albert started working as a programmer at the age of 16, however, due to the low cost of such services, he worked as a seller of various goods.
Since 1995, Popkov began to cooperate with foreign companies and develop websites in accordance with certain orders. The work of the young specialist was appreciated, and soon Albert received several lucrative offers. From a full-time programmer, he first becomes the director of the development department, and then opens his own company.
The launch of Odnoklassniki
In 2006, Albert Popkov creates a layout for the Odnoklassniki website, and a year later the resource starts working on a completely new platform. From that moment on, the site gains massive popularity and in the same year receives the first prize. The project topped the ratings of the largest Russian social networks.
On the Odnoklassniki website, it is prohibited to post links to the pages of the main competitor - the VKontakte network.
The idea of the site was borrowed by Albert Popkov from European resources. Such projects have been popular abroad for quite some time. In Russia, the situation was the opposite. Odnoklassniki became a novelty on the Internet and instantly attracted the attention of many active users.
It is noteworthy that initially the project was not taken seriously by its creator. It was a so-called hobby. However, during the first year, it became clear that the number of visitors to the resource was increasing rapidly, so it became necessary to expand it for a wider audience. Initially, registration on Odnoklassniki was paid, but this function has now been canceled. The creation of pages is free of charge.
In 2008, a high-profile trial took place. Albert Popkov had to defend his rights to the Odnoklassniki social network.
Resource owners
In 2006, when the question of whether to sell the Odnoklassniki website or to promote it independently was being decided, Albert Popkov began to cooperate with Baltic investors. Thanks to significant investments, the site has noticeably changed the interface and acquired expanded functionality.
Initially, Odnoklassniki had four owners - a little more than 30% of the company belonged to Albert Popkov, the same amount to his wife, 18% were owned by Digital Sky Technologies and Ou Tobias. In 2008, the situation changed, control over the network is exercised not by the developer and his spouse, but by foreign companies, which now own 58% of the resource.
