Cyworld, der Social Networking Anbieter No.1 in Südkorea, die Monster Cash Cow, in dem wohl mind. jeder zweite Südkoreaner angemeldet ist (siehe alten MEX Artikel, vaD den Link zu einem Bericht einer Nutzerin). Cyworld eröffnet laut Techcrunch sein Angebot für die US-Nutzer. Kohle dürfte da sein, da es der möchtigen Südkoreanischen Telekom gehört. Siehe auch Wikipedia zu genaueren CyWorld Details. Dort liest man von Zahlen, die einem die Tränen in die Augen treiben:
Members cultivate on- and off-line relationships by forming Ilchon buddy relationships with each other through a service called „minihompy,“ which encompasses a photo gallery, message board, guestbook, and personal bulletin board. A user can link his/her minihompy to another user’s minihompy to form a buddy relationship. It is quite similar with facebook and MySpace in USA. It has been reported that as much as 90 percent of South Koreans in their 20s and 25 percent of the total population of South Korea[2] are registered users of Cyworld, and as of September 2005, daily unique visitors are about 20 million.
Cyworld kann sich mit Sicherheit rühmen, einen Art von digitalen Jambamodell eingeführt zu haben, wenn es um das Geschäftsmodell geht: Korea“s Internet culture has embraced the Cyworld model, which differs from the blog culture of the United States. The simplicity of buying items to decorate one“s minihompy, without needing to learn HTML or Photoshop, has attracted many young women who had not previously used the Internet. This item-based business model has also bolstered Internet community sites that had previously struggled as free services.
Wie sieht so eine Mini-Homesite aus, die man beliebig mit Pixelkram ausstatten kann?
Eine treffende Beschreibung über das CyWorld-Modell und warum es wohl gegen MySpace und Konsorten einen schweren Stand in den USA haben könnte:
CyWorld is a huge hit in South Korea. While it may look too „difficult“? for the „stoopid Yanks“?, but it may not be; the Korean version was actually designed with what they call _com-maeng_ ie „computer-blind“? people, people with little experience with computers. There“s an image editing system in the Korean version, people who“ve never heard of Photoshop [not that they“re comparable, of course] can create or edit images and post them. The whole thing is also built on the concept of social network, the Asian way. Members set up the relationship degree with other members, using vocabulary usually used in family relationships. The stuff they buy „ mostly via mobile phones „ is not only for themselves, but are also given out to „relations“?, for birthdays or else.
I don“t like it „ although I would like it very much if I was a stakeholder „ and I am not sure it translates well into the Western mind. But then again, it“s an Asian website, and they“re based in SF, there“s quite a lot of young Koreans who might be attracted, as well as other Asian-Americans. Hit or miss, I“d say.
