Filipinos: Screw Multiply, Use Friendster
While bottom-tier social network Multiply stepped into deep shit by partnering with ABS-CBN, OpenSocial-enabled Friendster is expanding its Philippine office. Friendster serves 10.7 million Filipinos — and despite their history of technical glitches and patent trolling, I like the way they show how people are connected. They’re smart enough to use OpenSocial, they didn’t lure users through illegal filesharing, they didn’t lure users through nontransactional online “storefronts”, and they didn’t become party to a petty network war. Friendster already avoids a lot of the mistakes Multiply makes.
That’s because Friendster focuses on its core business of social networking — from expanding in key markets to adopting the right technologies. Even its patent-trolling is on focus. Multiply, meanwhile, goes half-baked on everything — from ersatz filesharing and content management, to ignoring de facto industry standards, to relying on some silly TV station to sell ad space.
Here’s the bottom line for Filipino social networkers: Multiply is slow to adopt standards, dependent on a TV station, and unfocused as a social network. Friendster adopted OpenSocial early, maintains its own office in a key market, and remains focused as a social network. Multiply serves around 2 million Filipinos, Friendster serves 10.7 million. If you want to connect with Filipinos, then screw Multiply. Use Friendster. That goes for users, developers, and advertisers.
(Of course, to connect with your American friends, use MySpace. Story via Hans Koch.)
[...] Abundo is urging fellow netizens to support Friendster social networking platform. Share [...]
Good points, though in terms of being ‘browser-friendly’ Multiply gets my vote. Searching and actually adding long lost friends in Friendster gets totally frustrating when their profiles just shoots my browser in the head. Most often times though, their image server just cuts short the fun.
Oh well, when you say Pinoys social media = Friendster is the absolute answer.
Amen!
Sir Mike, here’s my secondary Friendster profile: Clickie
HAHA. As long as Multiply serves as my extra “photo” hard drive, ill be more active with it! =P
and I’m happier with Facebook.
I don’t know man… true, Friendster has its weight in Pinoy membership, but that’s mainly because anyone who’s anyone opens up, not one, not two, but multiple accounts! Also, Friendster was the first one here, so the 17M also includes accounts that are either inactive or forgotten. And don’t get me started with all the bogus and/or multiple accounts hehe.
I for one would like to see the actual numbers, i.e. how many active accounts, concurrent users, etc. And I’d like to see click-through rating and contextual ads. And for God’s sake, someone do something about those wild and wacky profiles that take ages to load with all the attached pictures, videos, music and whatever else they can add to ’spice up’ their page.
Don’t get me wrong though, I still use Friendster. And it’s probably one of the few local sites that have actually been able to capture the CDE market. And from a Multply user’s point of view, that too has it’s share of outrageous profile pages with too many going on. (Then again, every social network suffers from that… even MySpace and FaceBook.)
But again from a Multiply user’s point of view, I have to tell you, personally the appeal with Multiply got me with its ability to effectively line up multiple services in a convenient manner–like photo albums, blogging, video and music, and now, video and audio replies. Why do you think so many online sellers got into Multiply rather than eBay or Auction.ph or Friendster? Because it was so easy to set up an account, get connected to a network and put together an online portfolio or brochure of their products.
Ahh but in the end, the debate between Friendster and Multiply is moot point. What really matters is: where’s the money at? Which is why there will always be an argument for either side or even both. It all depends on what you want out of your SN service.
Oh and here’s more food for though: do you guys honestly think majority of SN Pinoy users stick to just one social network? Or sign on with whatever’s uso? Hehe.
[...] 5. - Read this post. [...]
as long as I’m able to download music illegally from multiply (even though they removed the download button), i’m sticking to it. haha
Friendster is a social site made primarily for meeting and making new friends.
Multiply, on the other hand is a site primarily for keeping in touch with people you already know.
So I don’t see any point for comparison. They are two different sites for two different purposes. I personally use both but I tend to favor Multiply over Friendster as it’s easier to use for sharing my stuff.
I just don’t see any point in making the comparison. Why not let the people use whichever they’re comfortable with?
Just my two cents. =)
Multiply has to take the cake for me. Their staff blog is often updated at least once a week. Previously I had used Y!360, now officially abandoned by Yahoo!, and they would go three months at a time with no entry. Multiply, if nothing else, exceeds other sites at staff attention. I’ve personally communicated with a few staff members, and the CEO, through their personal accounts on Multiply. That sealed the deal for me… execs you can talk to!
On a side note, there is a small minority of (disgruntled) folks at Multiply hailing this blog — the only anti-Multiply blog, apparently — as practically scripture.
This poses the question, “Why don’t they take your advice and flee to Friendster?“
^
I know! Funny how they keep bashing Multiply on Multiply. 8-}
Whackos. :p
The only reason Friendster’s reached 10.7Million “Filipinos” is because users create “multiple accounts”.
I like Mulitiply in terms of being creative with expressing the stuff you want to show. Friendster is still cluttered up in terms of presentation.
Friendster has recently expanded its applications. At the least, I see it as an effort to attract more Filipino users who find it entertaining (albeit sometimes inconvenient) to use extra applications in their page. At the most, I see it as an effort to sustain their crowd. Nonetheless, I speak not on behalf of the millions of internet users Just my two cents.
The reason why I wound up using Friendster is that because, as an online gamer with a Livejournal account, fellow gamers would often pester me for a Friendster page, and from that I have to make an account to satisfy them.
But honestly, like my (laundry bar and noodle soup) choices in life, I find it better off having BOTH Friendster and Multiply accounts than to get into the debate as to which SN is the best (just like the endless, pointless, stupid arguments as to which local television station is supreme).
yeah i think friendster is much better than any other social networking site …
myspace sux all time …
I still love Multiply more than Friendster. ♥
take note, love
I spend more time updating and browsing through my Multiply rather than Friendster. I dunno, but I now find Friendster to be boring. There’s nothing I can do while I’m logged in. I just check: who viewed me, the birthdays of some of my friends, and if there are any messages or comments left.
Whereas in Multiply, I check other people’s posts, even if not from my friends, as long as it seems interesting. And here in Multiply, I see to it that my contacts are really my friends, because in Friendster, padamihan lang ng friends. haha. oops, guilty ako dun ah. :))
Multiply President Pete Pezaris is now in the Philippines sucking up to ABS-CBN. Yes, President. How sad.
I’m using both, actually. Pero the frequent website that gets it’s raping from me is mostly either DeviantArt or my Friendster profile. As in, I update those frequently, with my profile getting the most focus.
What is friendster? Hmm! I know!
its a search engine for old friends and classmates.
I still go for Multiply.Com natuto pa kong magbasa ng HTML Codes.
Mike - My sense is that you haven’t bothered to truly learn about Multiply, either as a user experience or as a business. I encourage you to get in touch with me at dave at multiply dot com. I’d be happy to help you understand how Multiply differs from other sites, the details of our partnership with ABS, and anything else you would like to know.
Dave Hersh
Co-founder, Multiply
Everyone is entitled to an opinion and since you’re brave enough to write this drivel and post it on the Net, here is my opinion about your article…
There are just too many people with half-baked opinions, too much self-belief, and too little real knowledge about subjects. That you think that you have even passing knowledge about tech and media which you profess to write about yet obviously only got your sources out of Googling it make it even more laughable.
Next time you write about a subject, why don’t you try learning about it first… it will save you some face and save people out there from setting you straight.
Btw, I have accounts on both social apps.
@ Dave:
Why is your company approved that no-good ad deal? I hate seeing any content that is ABS-CBN connected in Multiply. The reason why I posted a comment here is because of the public disgust the monopolistic Lopez clan receives over the continuous rise of electricity rates and that infamous system loss charge infomercial from its sister company, MERALCO.
And please Mr. Hersh, if you care for the interest of the public here who are suffering enough of this selfish, self-centered clan that is the Lopezes, why don’t you just dump it instead?
@ Mike:
I haven’t read your blog for so long now. Thanks for giving me the credit last year for posting the infamous ad deal between ABS and Multiply.
And yes, Mr. P(r)ezident’s sucking Channel 2’s cock big time. How sad, indeed.
Welcome back, Lusanto! Enjoy the newest posts.
Mike, you’re still totally uninformed about Multiply or so far behind the times that your posts do nothing but spread that misinformation.
STFU & GTFO, Linda! You ARE the one who was misinformed! Multiply is the promoter of RIAA/MPAA’s selfish interests! The war on online piracy versus file sharing is the same as the war on profiteering against freedom of exchange of ideas and communications!
P.S.: Friendster API - open source; Multiply API - proprietary. Open standards will always win over proprietary ones. :p
**Multiply-ABS-CBN ad deal demotivational poster is coming to 4chan soon by an anonymous user, so stay tuned.**
@ Linda : Screw off!!!
@ Sir Lusanto : I’ll be waiting for that demotivational poster.
@Linda - PUTANG INA MO LUMAYAS KA DITO!
Here it is: click here
Whee! Take that, ABS-Multiply Deal (which, in full insult, should have been a No Deal *Deal or No Deal, get it?*)!!!
Hehe, astigin! Pareng Lusanto, nakuha mo yung tunay na essence ng katarantaduhan nila!