Lesson plan
StudiVZ
StudiVZ, SchülerVZ and MeinVZ was a social networking platform for students (in particular for college and university students in Europe) that was based in Berlin, Germany. The name is an abbreviation of the German expression Studentenverzeichnis, which means students' directory. The service was largely comparable to other social networking sites. StudiVZ claimed to be one of the biggest social networks in Europe, with (reportedly) over 15 million members as of September 2009 across Europe, mostly in the German-speaking countries of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. However, traffic to the site entered a state of steady decline in late 2009. After being sold to a new Investor beginning of 2017 for around 10 Mio. the new owner Momentous Entertainment declared StudiVZ insolvent in September 2017 due to a lack of cash flow for planned products. With a second new investor, the Gerbig Ventures GmbH, VZ networks launched a new group centered platform in May 2020. In the following years the website had shifted its business model towards social gaming, but was permanently shut down in March 2022 after losing its major gaming partner in China and Russia.
Article summary
StudiVZ, SchülerVZ and MeinVZ was a social networking platform for students (in particular for college and university students in Europe) that was based in Berlin, Germany. The name is an abbreviation of the German expression Studentenverzeichnis, which means students' directory. The service was largely comparable to other social networking sites. StudiVZ claimed to be one of the biggest social networks in Europe, with (reportedly) over 15 million members as of September 2009 across Europe, mostly in the German-speaking countries of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. However, traffic to the site entered a state of steady decline in late 2009. After being sold to a new Investor beginning of 2017 for around 10 Mio. the new owner Momentous Entertainment declared StudiVZ insolvent in September 2017 due to a lack of cash flow for planned products. With a second new investor, the Gerbig Ventures GmbH, VZ networks launched a new group centered platform in May 2020. In the following years the website had shifted its business model towards social gaming, but was permanently shut down in March 2022 after losing its major gaming partner in China and Russia.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.