Techie in Vietnam: Facebook Alternatives in Vietnam

By on January 13, 2010 • Topics: Technology

01.13.2010 – Facebook access in Vietnam has been spotty for the last few months, according to CNN.  Anecdotal evidence from Twitter searches also indicates that is the case for at least some in Vietnam.  Although there is a simple work-around by changing one’s DNS Server, it is potentially a hassle for those of us (especially expatriates) who rely on Facebook to connect to our social networks.

I am not an expert on the matter.  However, as the resident techie at VTP, I went out to explore one question:

What are the alternatives to Facebook in Vietnam?

For my research, I directy surveyed youths in Vietnam (ironically, through Facebook).  My question was simple: What are the most popular social networks in Vietnam today?  Below are the contenders:

CyWorld.vn

Cyworld.vn: A basic social network that looks a lot like a news aggregator.  The network seems fairly popular.  Cyworld has a Korean counterpart called nate.com.

henantrua.vn

Henantrua.vn: I can’t make out exactly what the website’s market is (perhaps for dating, from the appearance).  One feature about the site that I noticed was cool is the option to “Chat via SMS.”  It reminds me of how much texting is part of the culture in Vietnam and the rest of Asia.  Phone companies not charging  $.10 a pop for SMS over there might have something to do with it.

TamTay.vn

TamTay.vn

TamTay.vn:  Tam Tay’s focus is on sharing pictures and videos.  In that sense, it is less like Facebook and more like a mash up of Flickr and YouTube.

CyVee.com

CyVee.com: CyVee is a surprisingly polished website geared towards young professionals, an equivalent to LinkedIn.  The network is rather robust.  I was able to actually find a few people I know on there (that’s amazing, considering I’ve lived in the U.S. the majority of my life).  One thing that did bother me was the virtual currency system on CyVee.  You have to earn or even buy points to send messages to others.  In all, it is a polished and robust network, but not an appropriate Facebook alternative due to its professional focus.

Zing.vn

Zing.vn: With Zing, I’ve found the heir-apparent to Facebook.  From the signup page, Zing appears to be a very modern site without much of the clutter of the other networks.  With the help of Google Translate, I was able to sign up for an account (terrible, I know).  Once I arrived at my start page, I was in for a surprise.

Zing Start Page

Look familiar?  It should to Facebook users.  From the familiar blue navigation to the notifications bar at the bottom, Zing is Facebook’s long-lost Vietnamese sister.  The site works surprisingly smoothly and is very active.  I browsed the user base and tested out a few profiles.  Here is a public profile of a young Vietnamese woman, Hoa Mi.  The layout is just like Facebook.  However, one difference I noticed is there is a points and class system involved.  Hoa Mi is a “VIP” member.  She has 115 points.  Her profile has been viewed 14,807 times.  I noticed the same focus on CyVee.com.  My guess is that it is a cultural thing.

The Winner: Zing.vn

Zing.vn is the most modern social network I’ve found in my research, and also the most active.  If Facebook was not an option in Vietnam, I would most likely find myself on Zing to connect with my Vietnamese network.  However, it is ironic that the next best alternative for Facebook in Vietnam is a site that looks much like Facebook.

Test out these sites for your self and let us know what you think.  Did we miss a big one?

The Author: James Bao

James Bao is the co-founder and Executive Director of OneVietnam Network, a Ford Foundation funded project to inspire diaspora giving. Previously, James was a financial analyst covering the technology, telecommunications, and media space. James is an alumni of UC Berkeley with a degree in Business Administration. He was born in Da Lat, Viet Nam and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. Find James on OneVietnam.

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  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6001419 Brian Luong

    good stuff… didn't know so many social media outlets exist in VN… i wonder how these sites compare to facebook? anyone here use 'em? Feedback?

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000648765722 Thai Nguyen

    the PM's son in law owns zing. thats the real reason why FB got blocked. also why the blocking is so easy to get around. they don't need to fully block people. just hassle them enough to drive them toward the open arms of zing. with all viral / social networking, once half of your friends are on zing you will most likely not use FB. its all business. its not political at all.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    I had also heard that this was the reason (business rather than politics) . Back in November I checked zing out, and thanks to my superb grasp of the Vietnamese language . . . I didn't get very far. I figured out how to create an account but didn't bother (I kind of wondered whether if I did I would get an email asking what I thought I was doing since my name is so obviously not Vietnamese . . . kind of wondered what I thought I was doing myself . . . ). It did look nice. I searched for some of the people in Vietnam that I've talked to on FB and didn't see any of them. But again, that was back toward the end of November and I didn't pursue it further.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1210726 Neil Nguyen Huu

    David, are you improving on your Vietnamese? haha. Maybe staying the network might help!

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    That was my thought exactly. Immersion is the only way. Am I improving? Well, I'm finding I can follow conversations better . . . as long as the topics stick to something simple like what color the children's bicycles are :o ) . . . but if I try to speak any Vietnamese to my son's two best friends (who are both fluent) they just laugh at me. But, I'm from the south . . . I'm used to that.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1210726 Neil Nguyen Huu

    I picked up lots of Japanese just by sitting down and study the books for hours. So far, I've studied about 100-120 hours of Japanese, and I'm on an intermediate level where I can understand about 50% of the dramas I watch. Maybe you should pick up some Vietnamese dramas with subtitle and train your ears from there.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    Good idea. I know the schools around here (Phoenix) recommend Spanish soaps (the daytime shows) to the kids in the Spanish classes as a means to pick up "the street language."One interesting thing I have to deal with is that my wife speaks with the northern Vietnamese dialect whereas the teacher in the class I'm taking speaks with a southern dialect. So the teacher will say one thing and my wife will say "that's not right, you should say it like this", etc.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6001419 Brian Luong

    hahah way to offer David a new addiction… Yikes!

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1210726 Neil Nguyen Huu

    Haha. I think, the Hanoi dialect is the recognized standard form. So, you should listen to your wife… or actually, you should just listen to your wife anyways.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6001419 Brian Luong

    Haha… Yukiko trained you well my friend. :P

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1210726 Neil Nguyen Huu

    Brian, it's what all grown men have to go through :D

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6001419 Brian Luong

    HAHAHAH ^^ David, can you attest to that?

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    Yes, dear (the first Vietnamese phrase I was ever taught).

  • Landon

    Look out for http://www.mimo.vn. It's a Twitter-like site, but it supports SMS updates with all the major carriers, lets you sync with Facebook and Twitter, and already has a ton of apps so users can use it without going to the website. I think they could do some big things if they can promote it well.

    • jhbao

      Great find Landon. It looks like a well done Twitter clone. How do you think it compares, in terms of usage, to Twitter in Vietnam?

      • Landon

        I don't really know how to tell traffic, but their Alexa seems good compared to other Twitter sites in VN. Usage of Twitter in VN is still low, but I think SMS (Mimo has free inbound SMS updates) for Mimo is potentially a game changer.

        What's pretty interesting about them is they seem to have gotten some celebrities to start using the service, and that was a huge driver for Twitter in terms of getting mass acceptance.

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