by Don Reisinger for Cnet
Facebook and Mypace may reign supreme in North
America, but we can't forget that they don't control every country in
the world. Simply put, people from around the globe have different
tastes and the major U.S. networks barely capture relevant market share
in some countries.
It's a big world out there and believe it or not, Facebook and MySpace don't own it.
China: Xiaonei
Xiaonei is basically a Chinese
Facebook clone. The site's design is extremely similar to Facebook's
layout and profile options are quite similar, as well. But with a reported
$430 million in funding raised earlier this year, it's poised to keep
its lead across the world's most populated country, regardless of its
similarity to the social network giant.
Xiaonei targets college-age Chinese students. According to figures
it released earlier this year, the social network currently has 15
million registered users and almost 9 million active users visiting the
site each day. Much like Facebook, the service allows users to share
photos and videos and connect with friends at school. Xiaonei also
provides a platform for users to share music and movies--a practice
that shouldn't come as a shock considering China is one of the leading
sources of piracy in the world. Much like Japan's top social network,
Mixi, no third-party apps are allowed on the service, though.
France: Skyrock
France's leading social network, Skyrock,
may surprise you a bit: it never was supposed to be a social network.
Skyrock started as a blog in 2002, which was eventually abandoned in
2007 and turned into a social network. It was the right move.
Skyrock dubs itself the "Free People Network" and generally succeeds
in making that moniker hold up. User profiles are freely available with
site registration and users can create blog entries that are published
on the site's main page. The top 100 bloggers are featured under the
site's "Blogs" heading, which also includes a blogger "Hall of Fame"
and a running tally of articles--656,000 as of this writing. According
to the site's figures at the top of its page, there are currently 20
million blogs and 11.3 million profiles on Skyrock. If you want to
create a profile--anyone from any country is allowed to do so--the site
does require a quick registration. But if you're looking for privacy,
you won't find it here--Skyrock is all about being open and hides
nothing from site visitors.
Germany: StudiVZ
StudiVZ is, well, an almost exact
replica of Facebook, but without the company's signature blue design.
Instead, the German firm employs a red palette in an attempt to
differentiate itself. Regardless, its profile pages look almost exactly
the same as Facebook's and its many features mimic the social network
giant. Because of that, Facebook initiated an intellectual property infringement case
against StudiVZ back in July. So far, nothing has come out of that
lawsuit other than posturing on both sides and much to Facebook's
chagrin, StudiVZ's 9 million users haven't stopped using the site.
Once users register for StudiVZ, it allows them to create a profile
and interact with others. They can upload photos and videos, share
interests, make updates, and post messages on friends' walls. In fact,
most Facebook users would feel right at home using StudiVZ. See what
I'm getting at?
Japan: Mixi
Say what you will about the prominence of MySpace and Facebook in
the U.S., but in Japan, they barely compete. A major social network
called Mixi reigns supreme and there's nothing Facebook nor MySpace have been able to do about it.
Mixi controls almost every aspect of the member's profile design and
structure and it doesn't even let third-party developers deploy apps on
the site. Membership is restricted to users over 18 years of age and
requires an invitation from a current user to sign-up. According to the
company, just 5 percent of the site's 15 million users provide their
real names and photos and every visitor to a person's profile page is
recorded so they can see who has been looking them up.
It's difficult to call Mixi a social network considering such a few
number of its members really want to be that "social", but it's
considered one nonetheless. The company is sitting atop Japan's group
of networks, which includes both MySpace and Facebook, and so far,
neither can gain significant ground.
South Korea: Cyworld
South Korea's Cyworld has been
the de facto leader in that country for years. And although the odds
are against it, it recently launched a U.S. site in an attempt to
expand globally and take Facebook and MySpace on directly.
Cyworld's success has been astounding. The site currently has more
than one-third of South Korea's entire population using its service and
90 percent of all South Koreans in their 20s use the site.
Once users sign up for the service, they can create their own
profile and an avatar, which becomes their digital face to the world.
That avatar can then be personalized to modify hair color and general
look. Once that's complete, Cyworld allows users to upload photos,
exchange virtual gifts, or create a club where others who share the
same interests can join and interact. According to the company, its
intention is to create a "virtual world." So far, that vision has
proven relatively successful
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