I was interviewed by PBS Mediashift associate editor Jennifer Woodard Maderazo about social networking sites and how Friendster has found its home in the hearts of millions of Filipinos (read article here: Orkut, Friendster Get Second Chance Overseas).
One of the questions she asked me (though it wasn’t included in that article) was whether Friendster had any competition for Filipino’s attention online. I replied nothing came close and even the well-funded start-up Eskwela.com didn’t made a dent.
But why? Have the online Pinoy really stuck it out with Friendster?
- The one main reason I can think of is the first mover advantage — first come, first served. Had Orkut came out first, maybe we’re all fighting it out with the Brazilians on the top spot.
- Everybody’s already there, so why move out? Since Friendster came out first and droves of people, friends, long lost classmates, and officemates are all in your Friend’s list, its gonna be hard moving to a new service without them in tow.
- The Friendster clones actually helped the brand and the marketing — Prendster, Fwendz, etc. — nothing beats recall if a dozen other sites you go to reminds you of the original one.
If some people say Friendster sucks, then why haven’t the 5 Million Filipinos moved over to say Facebook or MySpace? Your guess is as good as mine.
so after almost 12 years, friendster is just a memory now…. RIP friendster and facebook is still growing and growing…