When it comes to social networks, Facebook and MySpace dominate in the United States. But if your business takes you to other parts of the world, or you have to connect with colleagues and customers in other markets, it's important to remember that a multititude of smaller social networks have not only been established, they've attracted huge numbers of users.
You may have heard of Bebo (popular in the U.K. and acquired by AOL last year for $850 million) or Friendster (an early MySpace competitor in the U.S., now retrenched in Southeast Asia) but there are many more. In Latin America, Hi5 has established a strong presence. Eastern Europe has a fragmented landscape, with Poland dominated by a local player while other countries are the battleground for international networks such as Facebook and Hi5. In China, there are a patchwork of social networks, ranging from 51.com to the portal tencent.
The implications of the global social networking landscape can be felt by companies on several levels. International marketing efforts have to consider not only what networks are popular in each of the target markets, but also what demographic groups use them and what features are available in terms of advertising capabilities and fan pages. Companies with global workforces may also see unusual patterns as coworkers in different countries seek to make connections and join networks that they otherwise might not use. If there is resistance -- or restrictions -- to certain social networks, there may be a corresponding drop in the ability for distributed workforces to bond.
Even though some of the smaller networks are thriving, Facebook's dominant global position cannot be ignored. Facebook traffic and signups continue to grow at a blinding pace all over the world, and it is a force that many smaller networks will have to contend with. Orkut, a social network operated by Google, has reportedly been losing ground in India to Facebook. Other markets may also succumb, thanks to existing (and growing) Facebook beachheads, international networks created by students and expatriates, Facebook's crowdsourced localization efforts, and, importantly, Facebook Lite, which can give a social networking experience even on limited bandwidth networks.
Sources and research: Nytimes.com, Hi5.com, nasza-klasa.pl, bebo.com, Friendster.com, Businessweek.com, Watblog.com, TechCrunch.com, tencent.com, 51.com, Venturebeat.com, Facebook.com, TheStandard.com
Image: NASA
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