In review: this is what you see while your photo is waiting for approval

Be it the real world or the web - it’s pretty much the same thing. There ARE people, who just love to show off their genitals. Or have sex in public places. Or do violence to other people. Or take drugs.

In real life those people normally get in trouble with the police. On the internet, in our community, we unfortunately have to take care of this. Or better: have to block pictures of those leisure time activities above.

As aka-aki is getting bigger and bigger every day, there are more and more of those pictures that are not suitable for minors. We are obliged to find them and delete them. And that’s quiet a job in a community with more than 250.000 members! So far there is no other way than this: every picture you upload, be it a profile picture or a sticker, has to be reviewed before it will appear in the system. And for now, this review process is done by the aka-aki team members. Additionally to their usual jobs and their lifes after the office. And that’s why there are longer waiting times. Sometimes.

We know that this is annoying and we are sorry. Relief is near. We are building a much bigger team for picture review. And soon the waiting times should be history. I mean, during the day (in Europe) it’s not that bad actually. During night hours here it’s sometimes difficult. But also aka-aki members sometimes need some sleep. Thank you for your understanding. That’s just another lesson we learn, when you are building a social network for the first time in your life;-)

Greetings from Berlin and a great weekend to everyone
the aka-aki team.

The ‘Award Season” in Hollywood is long gone. Here in the web industry it’s just getting under way! aka-aki now has the chance to win another sought after people’s choice award and we are hoping for your support…

TechCrunch, the mother of all technology blogs, has nominated us for an “Europas” award this year. Every year they award Europe’s best web and mobile startups with this price. And this year we are proud to be in the race in two categories: “Best mobile startup” and “Best Mobile Application”.

Until tomorrow, July 1st, YOU are the judges to name the five finalists in each category just by voting here at this page and please again at this page here for the second category. We’d be very happy if you helped us with that, there’s not even a registration necessary. Just a few simple clicks.

We say thank you and send Moose kisses from Berlin,
the aka-aki team.

Intorno a te: this is how aka-aki looks in Italian

Today we got the “GO!” from Cupertino. From now on there is a new version of aka-aki for iPhone and iPod Touch available. And this is new in the new version:

• beautiful new startup screen
• search for stickers and other members from your iPhone/iPod Touch
• send sticker bulletins when on the go with your device
• web browser inside! open external links without closing aka-aki

And of course: the Italian language version is now finally included in the software. So the moose can now arrive south of the Alps.

The new aka-aki version is available for free download in the iTunes app store. Just follow this link for updating your software: http://i.aka-aki.com. Or update directly from your iPhone. Just tap on “App store” icon and then choose “Updates”.

Loads of fun with aka-aki 1.1.0 and greetings from Berlin
the aka-aki team.

Sorry, but this post is not available in English

This week started with a short down time for aka-aki. The reason was, that our servers had to be moved into one single server rack (as reported).

Now the Moose has his own, beautiful, spacious, air-conditioned place to do his calculation work. And we just got the first photos from our reporter. Above you can see where the Moose works.

This is a good opportunity to thank our hoster filoo. It’s really great to work with the guys there!

Greetings from Berlin,
the aka-aki team.

Tonight, Sunday June 14th to Monday, we have to do important maintenance  works on our server. Due to this, aka-aki will be temporary down for 30 minutes after 2 am (CET) and maybe a bit longer. There won’t be any login possible, neither from the website nor from the mobile. We are sorry for the inconvenience. But monday morning the moose will be back and start into the new week from brand new servers. And into a bright future.

Greetings from the
aka-aki team.

This week the big party happened! In New York the 13th Webby Awards ceremony took place. aka-aki won the award as Best Mobile Social Network. And of course we’ve sent a delegation over there to bring the trophy home.

The event was amazing! It all started with an appearance on the red carpet, where especially Stefanie did very well (as you can see on the picure above). Later, our web devevolper Lukas caused quite a stir thanks to his fancy hairstyle. And then there was time to meet the celebrities like “Friends” star Lisa Kudrow.

Thank you again to the organizers for this great night! And of course to the academy and all the people who voted for us in the People’s Voice Awards. Now we will look for a nice place in the office for the trophy. Wow!

Greetings from the proud
aka-aki team.

This week the moose hit show biz! aka-aki was part of a live gig of French DJ Martin Solveig in Paris. Wednesday night aka-aki members could see a fantastic performance in legendary Paris music hall “L’Olympia”. But the fun started even earlier: last weeks aki of the week winner got a package with tickets and albums. And after the show, aka-aki members there had the chance to win VIP passes for the exclusive after show party. For this game, there was a secret win code delivered directly in a bulletin via the Martin Solveig aka-aki sticker.

Our Paris correspondent reports: a great success! More than 30 akis joined the game. Below you see some pictures of the lucky winners and impressions from the great show before. We want to thank Martin for the amazing performance, the folks at Universal Music France for the great evening and all the aka-aki members there for taking part. We can’t wait for the next action, when the moose meets music!

Bonne journée,
l’equipe d’aka-aki.

This week aka-aki is all about revolution! Actually, Che Guevara himself is roaming the streets of Berlin. And he is carrying a mobile phone with an aka-aki profile! As soon as you meet him in the streets with your aka-aki, he will offer you a sticker. If you accept this sticker, you do not only show that you’re a good revolutionary. The sticker is also your free ticket to an exclusive preview of the new “Che” movie by Steven Soderbergh July 9th in Berlin. You’ll find all the information on the movie and the preview event on the sticker page (link opens if logged in).

Just landed: the new CTO of aka-aki Gabriel Palomino

This week the aka-aki family has grown again. We have a new Chief Technical Officer at aka-aki: Gabriel Palomino landed in the Berlin office and is from now on in charge of all the technical development of our service. Be it the Java software for mobiles, iPhone application, our community website or the challenging big, wide worlds of our database and server environment - he will take good care of the moose!

Because Gabriel got to know the mobile business from every side. He is founder and used to be CEO of Wapaa Mobile Entertainment Software. At Livedoor Interactive he was a successful producer and business developer to work together with the biggest players on the Spanish mobile market. At Gameloft in Barcelona and Probability PLC in London he coordinated the developement teams for mobile gaming applications. And it was him who brought as “Head of Mobile” the application Rummble to the mobile devices. To put it short: we are so happy we could attract him to join us in Berlin. And how did we do that, Mr Palomino?

“aka-aki is like a refreshing meal with selected ingredients - intelligent management, filled with cutting edge technology and served on witty marketing. A funky business that I’m very proud to join and be part of its successful expansion.” And we are proud to have you!

The aka-aki team.