IRC-Galleria - Active Social Networking

In April 2007 Sulake acquired the largest and most active social networking service in Finland, IRC-Galleria. Sulake’s objective is to launch a new international social networking service based on the IRC-Galleria concept to carefully selected countries using Sulake’s unique international infrastructure and experience. 

The acquisition made Sulake the biggest company in online communities and virtual worlds in the Nordic region. Sulake’s online services now reach more young people than any other media in Finland.

One of the world's most active online communities

Currently IRC-Galleria is by far the largest and most used social networking service in Finland. More than 850,000 Finns visit the site every week (source: TNS Metrix) and the service has over 500,000 active members. The site receives an astonishing 1.7 billion monthly page impressions, which makes it one of the most active online communities in the world.

IRC-Galleria is an interactive service where users can e.g. post and share their photos and music on their own customized site, join different communities and communicate with people in many ways. Currently the members are on average 20 years old and 60% of the registered users are over 18. Basic usage of IRC-Galleria is free, but users have an option to purchase additional services and enhancements. The service can also be used with a mobile phone.

Communication is the key in IRC-Galleria

What separates IRC-Galleria from the competition? The answer is simple: user’s social activity. On an average the users spend close to 20 hours in the service weekly, communicating and interacting with others in their own sub-communities. Compared to the largest worldwide competitors, this figure is more than ten times higher. Currently the service has over 500,000 different user groups only in Finland and the amount increases with tens of thousands every month. Compared to the competition IRC-Galleria is a true networking service. It is used mainly for meeting and interacting with people, not only as a place to store photos, music or videos.

The IRC-Galleria concept has a localized version in Germany. The further internationalization process is currently in development phase.