Affinity Labs was a company that built

social networking A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

sites for niche groups such as firefighters,

police officers A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of ...

, nurses and the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. In January 2008, Affinity Labs was merged into Monster.com in a $61 million transaction. 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. Other sites include: SalesHQ, ArtBistro, TheApple, FireLink, NursingLink, InsideTech, GovCentral, IndiaOn, Excelle, AllHealthCare, and the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an 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. In March 2012, it shut down its European operations. Despite HMForces.co.uk being its most successful vertical, and having shared resources with

Military.com Military.com is a website that provides news and information about the United States military, service members, veterans, and their families as well as foreign policy and broader national security issues. Founded in 1999, the site has been a divi ...

, the global recession did not assist its longevity. HMForces.co.uk still has a strong presence on social networking sites to this day, evidence of its popularity. Further references to this military vertical can be found on UK e-commerce sites, and there is also a HMForces blog 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.

History

Affinity Labs was founded by

Christopher Michel Christopher P. Michel is an American photographer and entrepreneur, who founded Military.com. He is the current artist in residence at the National Academies. Early life and career Michel attended the University of Illinois. He served as a ...

in 2006 after he sold

to Monster in 2004 for $40 million. The

Mayfield Fund Mayfield, also known as Mayfield Fund, is a US-based venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage to growth-stage investments in enterprise and consumer technology companies. Founded in 1969 and based in Menlo Park, California. History The ...

and Trinity Ventures invested in Affinity Labs prior to its Monster Worldwide buyout. Between 2010 and 2014, the President of Military Advantage and Vice President of

Monster Worldwide Monster Worldwide, Inc., formerly TMP Worldwide, is an American provider of employment services, most notably Monster.com. Through online media sites and services, the company delivers targeted audiences to advertisers. History In , Andrew ...

, was former Navy Admiral

Terry McCreary Admiral Terry L. "T" McCreary (born March 20, 1952) is a retired one-star admiral in the United States Navy and served as the Chief of Naval Information (CHINFO) reporting to the Secretary of the Navy, overseeing the Navy's global public affairs ...

. He oversaw the military Affinity operations in Europe which had a product manager in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

reporting to the former Admiral in the US. 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.

References

External links

Official siteHMForces.co.uk
{{Randstad Holding, state=autocollapse Internet properties established in 2006 Monster.com