WHY is Friendster so popular in the Philippines?

Once upon a time, Friendster was the social networking site. It was huge in the US and other countries, but since then it has seen a pretender to the throne, MySpace, become the new king of social networking.

In the Philippines, however, Friendster is still hands-down the most popular social networking site, notwithstanding the presence of homegrown alternatives such as GrooveNet. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Filipinos are practically single-handedly keeping Friendster alive. Heck, according to Alexa, Friendster is the second most popular site for Philippine Internet users, next only to Yahoo!

Which makes you wonder: Why is Friendster so popular among us Filipinos? Is it the first-mover advantage? After all, having given Friendster our personal information and built a network of friends there, it’s kind of a drag to have to start all over again in a new social networking site. Then again, that didn’t stop people in other countries from leaving Friendster behind and migrating to MySpace and other competitors.

Is it a cultural quirk? Like when a generation of Filipinos embraced Voltes V with a fervor that would surprise even the people in the land of its birth, Japan, as well as viewers in other countries.

Maybe someone could explain the reason for this phenomenon? One thing’s for sure, thouh: Friendster has become an indispensable part of the online life of many Filipinos. If you or your friends have a great pic, you’ll often hear someone describe it as “pang-Friendster.” Phone pals, or, heaven forbid, pen pals? Nope, nowadays it’s “ka-Friendster.” Sure, some people — hell, most of the world — would say Friendster is baduy, jologs or yesterday’s news, but Filipinos love it anyway.

What’s your Friendster story? Why do you like Friendster? What’s your unforgettable Friendster experience? Share your tales, and maybe we can better understand what makes Friendster the Filipino friend.