Do you remember the defunct social search engine Ark

Ark is a personal search engine that uses filters such as hometown, current city, high school, college, gender, relationship status, employee, and interests, to search for new people, old classmates, old friends or acquaintances, and new business contacts. Features include managing users' inboxes from their mobile devices, and syncing data from their Yahoo, AOL, Gmail or Google Apps email accounts, while also finding information about whom they are communicating with.

• The service aggregates "ghost profiles" from social media outlets such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Angel list.
• The company was founded by Patrick Riley and Yiming Liu in March 2012. Prior to founding Ark, the team worked at Google, AOL, Symantec, Lithium and Yahoo! Research. Ark is based in San Francisco, California.
• Ark was part of the Winter 2012 Y Combinator class. The company was one of TechCrunch Disrupt NYC's 2012 Battlefield Finalists.

What happened?: Launched at TechCrunch Disrupt in May 2012, Ark sought to map the "social graph" to help users find, for example, "friends who live in New York and are single". It was seen as a competitor to Facebook's own, then-unreleased Graph Search.

• Ark’s initial success was built on accessing Facebook’s user data. However, Facebook eventually restricted access to its data, particularly friend data, which severely limited Ark's ability to operate as a comprehensive people search engine.
• Following these restrictions, the company shifted its focus. By September 2013, Ark launched a new product described as a "Rapportive-meets-Mailbox" app, which used social data to provide context about people in your inbox.

The results: The company aimed to be a "neutral" alternative to Google and Facebook for personal search. Following the pivot, the company did not reach widespread mainstream adoption, and the original, independent Ark people search engine, as it existed in 2012, ceased to function in its original capacity.

• After initially gaining traction and raising a $4.2 million seed round, the company underwent significant shifts due to changes in data access policies by major social networks.
• Legacy and revival: People want to bring back the defunct personal search engine Ark and we want Google, Yahoo, AOL, TechCrunch, Facebook, Bing, LinkedIn and AngelList to help bring back Ark.
• It will have improved features, more filters to search for new people, old classmates, old friends or acquaintances and new business contacts, more managing users' inboxes and more syncing data email accounts (like Gmail, Yahoo or Facebook), as well as more profiles.

Back in the 2000s, Ark TV was an indispensable resource for television enthusiasts who wished to relive and revisit televised moments that defined an era. Ark TV, also known as livedash.ark.com or tv.ark.com, provided users with the unique ability to view screenshots and transcripts of TV airings across various channels from the 2000s and 2010s, notably during 2009 to 2015.

This platform was a vital archive for those who appreciated the evolution of television content, allowing people to reflect on significant TV moments, analyze media history, and enjoy a sense of nostalgia. As a passionate community of viewers, we cherished the repository of information it offered, connecting us with our memories and assisting in academic and fan-based research.

Things go dark: In 2017, however, this beloved archive became inaccessible, and by 2018, it went completely dark. Even though it went offline in March 2017, meaning Ark TV was to prepare for a "brand new website" that was intended to launch "later in 2017" but it failed to return and remained offline for the rest of the decade. There is no official statement or a direct successor to the original Ark TV since it unknown that Ark TV went offline. However, some of the content may be accessible through Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, though functionality may be limited.

• The loss of Ark TV means a loss of cultural heritage. It's not just a database; it is a testament to the technological advancements and societal shifts as mirrored in our TV narratives. For many, especially those interested in media studies or TV history, Ark TV was a treasure trove of knowledge and entertainment that facilitated innovative thinking and learning opportunities. We believe that bringing back Ark TV with content vital for preserving this legacy.

The return of Ark TV lets you not only view screenshots and transcripts of TV airings across various channels (Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Freeform, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Jr., Nick Jr., Nickelodeon, FX, Paramount Network, TBS, TNT, etc., etc., etc.), from the 2010s and 2020-present, it also let's you view screenshots and transcripts of past TV airings across various channels from the 2000s and 2010s, notably during 2009 to 2015, called Ark TV Rewind.

Ark TV is coming back soon with an improved look and added a companion website Ark TV Rewind, which is also coming soon

• The revival website revival website focused on transcripts of American TV airings, with the addition of Ark TV Rewind, a simultaneous website also focused on transcripts of American TV airings throughout 2009-2015.

Ark TV or Livedash (tv.ark.com or livedash.ark.com) should not be confused with TVARK, an online archival website of images, sound and video clips illustrating British television presentation history, ARK TV which is a Christian TV channel, the SYFY TV show titled The Ark, or the survival game franchise titled Ark.

Sign this petition to bring back not only the search engine Ark but also bring back Ark TV and we want people to bring back their respective now-defunct websites. #BringBackArk #BringBackArkTV #BringBackLivedash #BringBacktheSearchEngine #BringBacktheTranscript-focusedWebsite #ComingSoon #Ark #ArkTV #Livedash