RockYou is a developer of social games and advertising solutions for social media

Social media

The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...

. RockYou is focused on the development of social game titles, including Gourmet Ranch and the Zoo World franchise. Their advertising products allow brands to interact with players in-game, adding value-per-engagement for both brands and users.

History

Based in Redwood City, California, RockYou was founded in 2005 by Lance Tokuda and Jia Shen. The company's first product, a slide show service, was designed to work as an application widget. Later applications included various forms of voice mail, text and photo stylization, and games. As of December, 2007 it is the most successful widget maker for the Facebook

Facebook

Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

 platform in terms of total installations.

In May, 2007, RockYou was one of the companies invited to participate in F8, the event at which Facebook announced an open platform allowing third parties to develop and operate their own software applications on the Facebook website. Applications made for Facebook include Super Wall, "Hug Me", Likeness, Vampires, Slideshows, Birthdays, MyGifts, and Emote, among others.

RockYou then moved on to developing more complex social applications for Facebook, including Hero World, My Casino, Zoo World, and Toyland.

In October 2010, the company completed major layoffs and began to focus on higher quality social games. In November, 2010, the company's founder and CEO, Lance Tokuda, stepped down from his position as CEO. Over the next several months, RockYou announced the acquisitions of two game development studios, TirNua and Playdemic, as well as development agreements for two new games from John Romero's social game studio Loot Drop. Playdemic's first game, Gourmet Ranch, was nominated in February 2011 for a Mochi Award for Best Social Game.

In April, 2011, Lisa Marino was appointed the new CEO of RockYou.

RockYou's investors include SoftBank

SoftBank

is a Japanese telecommunications and internet corporation, with operations in broadband, fixed-line telecommunications, e-Commerce, Internet, broadmedia, technology services, finance, media and marketing, and other businesses....

, Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital is a Californian venture capital firm located on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, California. The Wall Street Journal has called Sequoia Capital "one of the highest-caliber venture firms", and noted that it is "one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture-capital firms"...

, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Partech International

Partech International

Founded in 1982, Partech International is an investment company specializing in international venture capital with offices in the US and in Europe....

, and DCM

DCM

DCM may refer to:Technology:* Data Center Manager* Deep chlorophyll maximum, subsurface maximum in the concentration of chlorophyll* Dichloromethane, a common solvent in organic chemistry...

.

Controversy

In December 2009, the company experienced a data breach resulting in the exposure of over 32 Million user accounts. In the controversy, it was revealed that the company failed to comply with the most basic security standards. The company stored all user account data in plain text in its database, unencrypted, exposing all that information to attackers. They also only required a five-character password, and did not permit the special characters that security experts recommend including in passwords. They then would e-mail the password to their users, despite the inherent insecurity of e-mail. The crackers used an SQL vulnerability that had been documented for over ten years. The security breach also revealed passwords to outside websites, such as Facebook and MySpace.

Rockyou was also criticized for its communication with users. It hadn't sent a notice to users days after the breach, and incorrectly reported that it only affected older applications when it actually affected all Rockyou users.

Zoo World

RockYou's most played game, Zoo World is a free social media application where users try to build the best zoo they can. Participants can build on various islands, decorate their zoo with kiosks, trees, and a large variety of animals. In addition, it has features such as breeding animals, collecting objects, and visiting friend's zoo islands. The act of leveling up is based on achievements of tasks. Also, users can earn wildlife points, a bonus reward that can be used to buy special items, like ultra rare animals, and rare decorative items. Wildlife points can be earned by breeding animals, completing levels and trophies, or bought via PayPal or credit card. Lastly, around each holiday there are events, new animals, and new items to add to the zoo.

In May 2011, RockYou announced that Zoo World 2, the sequel to the original Zoo World, would be available on Facebook on June 8th, 2011.

Past Social Applications and Games

• Pieces of Flair
• Horoscopes
• RockYou Live
• Speed Racing
• Birthday Cards
• Hug Me
• Hero World
• My Casino
• Toy Land

RockYou Executive Team

• Lisa Marino, CEO
• Jonathan Knight, SVP of Games
• Allyson Willoughby, SVP/General Counsel
• Greg Kearney, SVP of Technology
• Steve Van Horne, Chief Financial Officer
• Jia Shen, CEO of RockYou Asia
• Julie Shumaker, GM/SVP of RockYou Media
• Kelli Dragovich, Head of HR
• Josh Grant, SVP of Corporate Development & Strategy
• Peter Everett, VP of Product for RockYou Media