Philippines: Social Networking Capital of the World

Ikaw na ang Sosyal, lol!

Yahooo! The black sheep of Asia did it again! First, we are the ‘Texting/SMS Capital of the World’. Ofcourse, averaging 600 text messages a month per user, who in their right mind would ever beat that? Texting is our way of life; it has become one of our basic necessities. Aside from food and shelter, it is important that we send text message every day, or we die.

And now… we have a new additional title to brag about. Recently 24/7 Wall St., an organization that provide analysis and commentary for global investors, have named Philippines as ‘The Social Networking Capital of the World’, in its May 9, 2012 article entitled, The Nations Where Facebook Rules the Internet.

Personally speaking, it is not a news. Facebooking is like a cellphone, it is a habit to most of Filipino, a commodity of which we cannot live without.

Actually, it’s outrageous seeing someone these days browsing a net without an opened Facebook on one of the browser’s tabs. Most often, after launching an Internet browser the first thing we type on the address bar is Facebook, if it is not the default URL.

We play DOtA and chatting with friends on Facebook in between. When we are in the office, we wait for break time so we can open Facebook when browsing during office hour is prohibited. Our day is not complete without clicking a ‘Like’ buttons on friend’s wall, or sharing those inspirational quotes, to inspired someone; or simply sharing those viral videos featuring a celebrity just like what happened to the so-called infamous ‘Riot at the Airport’.

See, we have all the luxury for this… Seriously, lol.

The list are dominated mostly by countries from Latin America and South East Asia, including the Philippines and Indonesia which ofcourse it is not a surprise since these two markets are among the first where Facebook penetrated. And actually, Jakarta still holds as the undisputed king for the largest Facebook users in any city in the world.

Ranking was drawn using sources from the following: comScore, Inside Facebook, New Media Trend Watch and ZDNet, with percentage ranking on three focused social networking sites; Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Here's the list on how each country rank per social networking site.

1. Philippines
> Facebook: 93.9%
> Twitter: 16.1%
> LinkedIn: 1.9%
> Internet Use: 29.7%

Social network penetration is incredibly high in the Philippines, reaching 95%. Facebook is the country’s most popular website, more so than Google, and has a penetration rate of 93.9%. The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for Twitter use on a global scale, with a penetration rate of 16.1%. The popularity of photo sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook. Social networking is so popular among Filipinos, the country has been nicknamed “The Social Networking Capital of the World.”

2. Israel
> Facebook: 91.0%
> Twitter: 5.0%
> LinkedIn: 6.4%

3.Turkey
> Facebook: 90.9%
> Twitter: 16.6%
> LinkedIn: 3.4%

4. Chile
> Facebook: 90.2%
> Twitter: 14.3%
> LinkedIn: 5.9%

5. Argentina
> Facebook: 89.2%
> Twitter: 18.0%
> LinkedIn: 6.4%

6. Malaysia
> Facebook: 88.4%
> Twitter: 10.8%
> LinkedIn: 2.9%

7. Indonesia
> Facebook: 87.5%
> Twitter: 22.0%
> LinkedIn: 1.3%

8. Peru
> Facebook: 87.2%
> Twitter: 12.5%
> LinkedIn: 4.6%

10. Venezuela
> Facebook: 86.2%
> Twitter: 21.0%
> LinkedIn: 3.2%

For the complete list and its summary please, click here

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