Filipinos’ Friendster

If anyone doubted how international social networking is, they need only look at how Friendster.com’s doing in the Philippines. It dominates Internet use in that Southeast Asian country. According to the Manila Times, San Francisco-based Friendster, the No. 1 social site there, accounts for 87% of Philippine Internet traffic and has 7 million Filipino members, its largest population among 40 million members in 75 countries. Malaysia, Indonesia, the US, and Singapore are Nos. 2-5, respectively, in Friendster’s Top 5 countries. The site’s explanation for its popularity in the Philippines is that in its early days, Filipinos in San Francisco used the site to stay in touch with friends and relatives back home. There are plenty of young bloggers in the Philippines too – note that the country’s top teen magazine, Candy, is holding the 2007 Teen Blog Awards, PEP the Philippine Entertainment Portal, reports.