Who were your best friends five years ago? Is there anyone you would really like to see again? In 1999, Julie Pankhurst, a computer programmer from London, was thinking about her past – and especially the people she used to go to school with.
Julie looked on the Internet for a website to help her find her old school friends. But there was nothing. So Julie and her husband, Steve, started their own website. They called itFriends Reunited.
The site grew slowly at first, but soon they received their first "thank you" email. The man wrote, "Thank you so much. Using your website, I found an old friend from thirty years ago!" Julie and Steve were very excited about this and continued to improve their website. By the end of 2000, there were 3,000 members.
The next year was really hard work for the couple. In January, a national radio station mentioned their website. Their membership doubled in one week! People were talking about the website all over the country, and it became a full-time job for Julie and Steve. In a year, they had four million members!
Now, over fifteen million people in lots of different countries useFriends Reunitedto find old school friends, work colleagues and neighbors. Some of the stories which people tell Julie and Steve are amazing. For example, David Webster lost his memory in a car crash. He used the website to find old school friends, and they helped him remember his past.
Julie's simple idea gave us a national obsession (痴迷)—getting in touch with old friends and hearing their news. And it made her and Steve very rich—in 2005, they soldFriends Reunitedfor
£120 million!
