Thanks to the Internet, the generation of the 21st century is the most social yet.  Albeit electronically, there are literally millions more comments, kisses, pokes and hugs being made than there was ten years ago and with new innovations in complementary mobile technology, our frivolous communications are only set to increase.

Though sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Hi5 actively encourage the exchange of LOL banter, flirty pokes and affectionate hugs, the behind-the-scenes exchanges are far less friendly.  It is a multi-million dollar industry and the competitors are doing all they can to boost their user number and rule cyberspace.

By considering the case study of Spain, a country with 83% of its youngsters signed up to a social network, it is clear what the major weapon in this social war is – locality.  Though only 2 years old, the leading social network site in Spain is Tuenti and, perhaps not surprisingly, it is very much Made in Spain.  Not one of it’s 2,845,000 unique monthly visitors have to make an effort to translate their user options and what is more, each and every one of these users serve as an advertising medium for the site, encouraging their friends to sign up, get involved and put their life online.

The leap to success enjoyed by Tuenti has not gone unnoticed; the international social networking giants have been diligently taking note and gone on to take the necessary steps to compete – by taking on a national image.  Already MySpace has a delegation in Madrid and though Facebook are said to still only be looking, they already have a translated version of the site online, facebook.es.  A shrewd choice of language to make a translation into, by adapting their sites for Spanish speakers, the social networks are not only boosting their image within the Iberian Peninsula but in Latin America too -  something which the Mallorcan Wamba is very much aware of thanks to its 6,895,834 unique visitor statistic in July.

So which social network do you join?  Though each site clearly wants to keep their catchment demographic as wide as possible, as with all social groups, it is never long before labels and cliques are established.  Whilst Cristina Ruiz of Cocoloop describes Tuenti as being designed for the snobs of Spain, for example, Myspace is said to be the social foundation of the alternative crowd.   I

Whichever site it is you choose, there is no denying that the trend is on the increase and as each social network does its utmost to make itself indispensable to its users – from businesses promoting an event to school girls spreading some gossip – the one thing we can guarantee is that without a place online, you cannot begin to realise what you are missing.

For further reading:

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/portada/REDES/SOCIALES/GUERRA/elppor/20080822elptenpor_2/Tes

Rate this post:

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...