Global Social Networking Machinations: Facebook Takes UK, Friendster on the Move in Asia
It turns out that the hype about Facebook this year ain’t just hype. In the UK, Facebook has surpassed reigning global social networking champ MySpace for the first time, with a whopping 541% increase in audience since December 2006 (MySpace rose a relatively sedate 20% during the same period). Meanwhile, Bebo, a company you don’t hear about a lot in the US, moved to take a strong third in Britain.
And over on the other side of the planet, Friendster – a site often thought of as an also ran in webby American circles – is seeking to expand its presence in South and Southeast Asia. Friendster is launching its first non-English version in Chinese. According to TechCrunch, close to 90% of its monthly unique visitors already come from Asia, so it makes perfect sense that they would target their a new potential audience of teeming web savvy millions.
So while MySpace is still massively popular in the United States and other nations (but not so much in social networking-crazy Brazil, where Orkut is champ!) the social networking game is anything but static.
With hundreds of start-ups looking to grab audience, and a global marketplace that allows competitors to find regional footholds, MySpace may not be the ubiquitous name for social networking for that much longer stateside.
Facebook is certainly the social networking darling of 2007. Any thoughts on what 2008 may have in store?
