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EnglishFacebook hits 500 million users
22
Jul
Jul
World’s largest social network service Facebook hits 500 million users according to a post on their blog.
Facebook: 500 million strong
Despite difficulties about privacy concerns, Facebook has gained almost 250 million users compared to one year ago.
However, the world's leading social network has to find other ways to maintain its growth since some markets like the US seem to be saturated.
That's why Facebook recently announced its willingness to go local and grow in Asian countries, notably in China (even if it's still blocked!), Russia, South-Korea and Japan where it isn't the leading social network.
In China, Facebook competes with local social networks such as Tencent QQ, Renren Network (former Xiaonei) and Kaixin001.
Facebook launches new application
Facebook also unveils a new application namely "Facebook stories" allowing users to share stories that highlight the benefits of Facebook in their life.
For example, Ben Saylor, a high school student, who used Facebook to organize a community effort to rebuild a theater in Kentucky, after it was damaged by floods in May.
Next objective for Facebook is clearly to reach 1 billion users.
Facebook wants to grow in China even if it's still blocked
24
Jun
Jun
World’s largest social network service Facebook hopes to grow in Asia, and notably in China, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.
World's largest SNS
Founded in 2004, Facebook now has almost 500 million members.
The company is looking for other ways to maintain its growth driven now by non-English languages, in particular French, Spanish, Turkish and Indonesian. The objective is to reach 1 billion users.
Facebook to go local
Mark Zuckerberg also announced that Facebook would soon begin to make its first strategic local moves and do specific things in specific countries. He did not specify whether that would involve local customisation of Facebook in those countries, or some sort of corporate activity.
He also pointed out that mobile internet would be a driver of growth in social media.
Facebook wants to take the lead in the Asian SNS market
Among the countries for the next phase of expansion, Mark Zuckerber quoted China, Russia, South-Korea and Japan where Facebook isn't the leading social network.
Facebook faces fierce competition with Chinese social networks such as Tencent QQ, Renren Network (former Xiaonei) and Kaixin001 (see our article about SNSs in China). But as you know, Facebook is still blocked in China, so I don't really understand how Facebook intends to gain users unless it buys one of these companies.
Other local Asian SNS leaders include Cyworld in South Korea, Mixi in Japan and Vkontakte in Russia.
SNS in China, Everyone Increases... but Facebook
28
Aug
Aug
Every social network system is growing in China... except facebook, because as we told you before, facebook is blocked in china.
When I see the hard time google is having to gain market shares against baidu (which has about 70% market share here in china), I think facebook is not likely to get back in the competition. When facebook will be accessible again, it will be too late. Specially because chinese users won't go from xiaonei or kaixin001 to facebook if they already have their contacts in these two sns.
Facebook, to get back in the game, will have to buy one of these sns (maybe xiaonei, because xiaonei is a copy of facebook, so users won't have difficulties to adapat to facebook's interface).
Another thaught is... if these sns become bigger and stronger, won't they try to compete with facebook in other countries?
Once more, local players are doing better in china than international ones (I know, with a little help ;o) but still, i think that if you want to be in the chinese market... the best thing you could do is ... coming to China.
China Facebook
8
Jul
Jul
China facebook. Today, Facebook and twitter, probably because of what's going on on the west side of the country, are blocked in china. I am not going to discuss the politics behind this. This is a blog about search engine optimization, and internet marketing, so i am going to stick to that... but don't think i am heartless or I don't care about what is going on.
1) Now imagine you are in shanghai, or beijing, and you run your company on facebook (with a facebook app), well, as long as facebook is blocked, then you have 0 turn over...
2) they want to stop spreading the information... but i am wondering if by blocking facebook, they don't actually boost the spread of information, because the whole world is going to speak about facebook being blocked!
3) Often, people think that china is blocking facebook to stop information broadcasting abroad. actually I think that the main reason is for chinese in china. this is the most important part they need to control... so why don't they stop xiaonei, a facebook copy in china!?
Well, let's hope facebook is going to be accessible again in china in few hours, because it's also a tool for my business...
Edit: we are on the 24 of july, and facebook is till blocked in china. It's probably going to be blocked until october 1st 2009, for the 60th anniversary of the creation of the "People's Republic of China".
China Blocks Twitter and Flickr
2
Jun
Jun
Edit 07/08/2009 :
China blocked twitter again, and facebook, and almost everything that can help information broadcasting.
China blocked twitter and flickr today. We don't know why. Maybe to help its new comers like the chinese competitor of twitter ( fanfou.com ). Still, we lost today two very good seo assets.
Actually, we can continue add message to our twitter by using services like ping.fm , that's how i am right now twitting about it ;o)
But i cannot read my favorite tweets anymore, except by using a proxy.
Edit : China blocked twitter, flickr, hotmail, bing, and youtube was blocked before... so, what's next? keep tuned
