REMEMBER Friendster?
The online social networking site was on track to become the Internet's next big phenomenon a few years ago until an upstart called MySpace eclipsed it in popularity and media attention. But being spurned by America's fickle teenagers doesn't mean the budding social networking site went into hibernation or shrank to cater to a few true believers. While MySpace may continue to dominate in North America (more than half of its 100-million-plus accounts come from the United States), Friendster, Google's Orkut and other general-use social networking sites are thriving overseas.
In the Philippines, for instance, Friendster is used by an estimated 87% of the country's 8 million Internet users. About 70% of Friendster's 40-million-person user base comes from Southeast Asia.
"There's only room for a handful of broad global networks," said Friendster spokesman David James. "We're pleased with our progress."
In economically developing countries such as Brazil, India and the Philippines, emerging middle class youth cultures have invaded American servers, pushing sites that are considered also-rans in the U.S. into dominant social networking forces in the countries that have adopted them.
At the same time, unforeseen cultural conflicts and legal hassles demonstrate that going global can create problems far more complex than MySpace's well-publicized problems with sexual predators.
This month, Google struck a deal with police in Mumbai to turn over the IP addresses of Orkut users involved in so-called "Hate India" campaigns in the site's communities. The police investigations stemmed from a group who posted photos on Orkut of a burning Indian flag with anti-India messages scrawled on it.
"The conflict that arises is that Orkut is global, while the Indian authorities want to assert control of it," said Pete Cashmore, whose blog Mashable.com covers the latest developments in social networking.
Similar conflicts have occurred between Google and the Brazilian government. In 2006, a Brazilian judge threatened to fine the company $23,000 a day for noncompliance if it didn't turn over to the government information related to users spreading child pornography, racism and homophobia in Orkut's communities.
