Finally a Selling Point for Friendster?
Looks like Friendster has scooped the idea that will keep its longstanding followers even stick even more. Loyalty check was in question when the unusually large number of registrations did not easily translate the site into a money making machine. While the introduction pages show Caucasian members, the mass base of the registrants come from the socially closely knit communities in Asia and minority communities in the United States. Based on conventional wisdom, I think the list is not the best targeted advertising audience. I have a strong feeling the feature about "most popular searches in my network" is a ploy to entice curious members into clicking ads through keywords such as "gucci bags" or "free nokia phone".
I joined Friendster late 2003 and found the recent enhancements a welcome change to arrest site boredom and declining popularity. I am amazed on the innovation of looking through other people's profiles which was kind of addictive; I used to designate a few nights a month dedicated for "Friendster-eavesdropping". Personalizing profile through color schemes, more photos, horoscopes, blogs have further enhanced Friendster's functionality that earned it several innovation awards shortly after its inception in 2002. But technical problems amid huge member traffic and mind boggling SQL queries in the backend finally took its toll and as always, when a system shows its vulnerability, its feel-good image is tarnished badly. I hardly saw the ill effects of an overburdened network though. The dark age of Friendster saw its CEO resign and cut 9% of its workforce.
Other communities like High5, Xanga, Ringo and MySpace thrived but somehow never created a stir out of the doldrums Friendster has experienced. It's thought that successes of such groups relied more on its focus activities like the musically-inclined Myspace groups. Pinoyster, a Filipino spoof, was also part of this mania.
The latest addition of "spying-on-me" featured created a much needed boost according to my personal observation. The usually wait-and-see attitude underwent a facelift that I saw several photo and blog updates and profile changes. The feature allows me to be identified as the one who viewed someone else's profile. Though most will prefer to set viewing anonymously, being identified will definitely create buzz ("oh, I did not know this person has viewed my profile even if I am a total stranger"); oh, adding suspense in this crowded but happily established online community. If only viewing anonymously is taken off the options, same as being unable to bookmark a profile without letting the owner know, it may be more fun.
What do you think?
I joined Friendster late 2003 and found the recent enhancements a welcome change to arrest site boredom and declining popularity. I am amazed on the innovation of looking through other people's profiles which was kind of addictive; I used to designate a few nights a month dedicated for "Friendster-eavesdropping". Personalizing profile through color schemes, more photos, horoscopes, blogs have further enhanced Friendster's functionality that earned it several innovation awards shortly after its inception in 2002. But technical problems amid huge member traffic and mind boggling SQL queries in the backend finally took its toll and as always, when a system shows its vulnerability, its feel-good image is tarnished badly. I hardly saw the ill effects of an overburdened network though. The dark age of Friendster saw its CEO resign and cut 9% of its workforce.
Other communities like High5, Xanga, Ringo and MySpace thrived but somehow never created a stir out of the doldrums Friendster has experienced. It's thought that successes of such groups relied more on its focus activities like the musically-inclined Myspace groups. Pinoyster, a Filipino spoof, was also part of this mania.
The latest addition of "spying-on-me" featured created a much needed boost according to my personal observation. The usually wait-and-see attitude underwent a facelift that I saw several photo and blog updates and profile changes. The feature allows me to be identified as the one who viewed someone else's profile. Though most will prefer to set viewing anonymously, being identified will definitely create buzz ("oh, I did not know this person has viewed my profile even if I am a total stranger"); oh, adding suspense in this crowded but happily established online community. If only viewing anonymously is taken off the options, same as being unable to bookmark a profile without letting the owner know, it may be more fun.
What do you think?
posted by Unknown at
11:02 PM
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