Launched in 1999 by Omar Wasow, Blackplanet.com is an online niche social-networking site targeted especially for the African American community. In December 2007 was the 4th highest trafficked social-networking site according to Hitwise [1], and the only niche social-networking site in the top 5, behind the likes of MySpace and Facebook. As of June 2007 there were 16.5 million members and 80 million page views.
In April 2008, Radio One, the media empire begun by media magnate Cathy Hughes, acquired for $38 million BlackPlanet and its parent company, Community Connect Inc., along with partner sites Mi Gente and Asian Avenue.[2]