Hitwise Intelligence - Sandra Hanchard - Asia Pacific

If you think Singapore is up, try to check stats for Indonesia (3rd largest members) or Philippines (2nd largest members) [ranks tracked by Plurkerati.com].
With Twitter penetration in both countries is still in the shallow end, you will see (I believe) much bigger difference compare to Singapore.

Posted by Chris Prakoso | February 11, 2009 12:56 AM

Hi, I'm from Singapore. Although yes it was in the news that Plurk is more popular than Twitter for now, I personally prefer Twitter.

Asia could be slower in picking up trends from UK/US. Friendster was number one social network in Singapore when Facebook was already the popular growing network. We are skeptical to change and new platforms and take time to observe the trend before deciding if it is suitable. But today, Singapore is the top 10 countries with facebook presence, with a 19% penetration.

In any case, although Plurk may be considerably more popular than Twitter according to statistics, but the overall users of micoblogging in Singapore still has alot of room to grow. A small group of bloggers are connected via the medium but it has yet to become a mainstream media and communication tool. At least I don't forsee that happening in the very near future.

Just a last note, I've got more Singaporean Twitter than Plurk friends.

(Add me on Twitter @belindaang)

Posted by Belinda Ang | February 11, 2009 04:59 AM

A majority of users do not use twitter via the website but thru' Twitter's API service ( something like RSS ) via tools such as Tweetdeck or Twurl. So whatever traffic that's going to the Twitter.com site are but a small percentage of the total twitter population in Singapore.

Plurk on the other hand, because of it's unique horizontal flow GUI, is accessed via their website. Their Karma system, a point system, rewards ( bribes ) members with more features like options to customize the look of their plurk account. But because the system rewards members just for chatting, Plurk has a lot more noise than useful content.

Friendfeed is a complimentary tool adopted by many twitter users to create threaded conversation around a single post like in Plurk.

Posted by dpcafe | February 11, 2009 10:06 AM

@Belinda Ang: The same can be said for the Philippines. Friendster is the #1 Social-Network service here, not MySpace.

Personally, I will rank multiply as second. But today, Facebook is gaining grounds here, mostly coming from Friendster.

Same with Plurk. When Plurk launched, 90% of the people I invited to Twitter (which none of them joined), are all using Plurk today. For them, Plurk is easier to use, conversations are trackable, and it is more fun. Twitter isn't.

That's my experience from my end. FriendFeed and other popular services in the Western hemisphere are virtually unknown here. Those who use them are mostly the tech-geeks (if you will).

So when I see "MySpace the #1 Social Network in the World", I know it's a lie. It's #1 in the Western World, not here in the East.

;)

Posted by JC John Sese Cuneta | February 11, 2009 02:04 PM

agree with the first commenter. maybe you can share the same hitwise stat on these countries: Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. I expect the trend to be the same (Plurk > Twitter) :)

Posted by Doug M | February 11, 2009 04:21 PM

@Chris Prakoso @Doug

Interesting to hear anecdotally Plurk is picking up across the region. We're tracking website visits in Singapore and Hong Kong currently.

@Belinda Ang @JC John

Thanks for your thoughtful comments - yes I always wondered at how Friendster was the top Social Network in Singapore, while Facebook was dominant in other markets (we've recently seen Facebook take over however in SG). It seems the maturity of the network plays some role in how dominant it is - as it takes time to gather a body of dedicated users.

@dpcafe

Fair call - Plurk does have a relatively complex visual interface which prompts users to go directly to the website. However the ability to have nested conversations on Plurk is a valid explanation for some of its popularity.

Posted by Sandra Hanchard | February 11, 2009 05:59 PM

Hi Sandra,

Interesting data! I have detailed thoughts about this, but I point to two specific things:

1) Twitter failing - this happened around June 2008, just before the spike in Plurk's traffic as shown in your graph. I don't think this is a coincidence

2) Localisation and Intimacy - you've picked up on threaded conversations, and localisation also plays a big role. I think the fact that it's so easy to find fellow Singaporeans easily on Plurk who are already talking about localised issues like shows on local TV, food they ate at a local restaurant, lowers the barriers to entry by a good amount.

I have full thoughts on my blog which you can visit, but I'll refrain from posting the specific URLs here to refrain from being linkbait-ish =)

Posted by Daryl Tay | February 12, 2009 03:49 AM

@Daryl Tay

Thanks for your comments - I think the localisation strength of Plurk is an interesting observation - particularly as microblogging websites figure out monetisation. Localised user-generated content potentially offers more targeted advertising opportunities. Some great analysis on your post:

http://uniquefrequency.com/2009/02/12/why-plurk-is-more-popular-than-twitter-in-singapore/

Posted by Sandra Hanchard | February 12, 2009 10:07 AM

Yep. Even here in the Philippines, Filipinos are switching to Facebook.

Can I suggest a study of the Asean trend? It seems that the region is moving almost at the same time.
Facebook migration from Friendster
Plurk being #1 than Twitter

I don't know, what else have we missed.
Yahoo Messenger being more popular than MSN/WLM?

^_^

Posted by JC John Sese Cuneta | February 12, 2009 10:55 PM

Plurk asks the oxymoron: "Tired of your existing Social Networks? Share your life easily with friends, family and fans." Odd.

Posted by fred | February 14, 2009 02:07 AM