Multiplicity
Chances are that you are one of the 14 million Filipinos who have Internet access. Chances are that if you have access to the Internet, you are a member of at least one social network.
Chances are that if you are in a social network, you spend more time on it than your parents/bosses would like you to.
Let’s face it. This social networking phenomenon has not waned since its early uproar about six or seven years ago with the likes of Friendster and MySpace. Since then, it has been a mixture of “next big things” like hi5, Pinoyster, Tagged, Orkut and what not. Now, chances are that if you ask a Filipino Internet citizen what social network they are a part of, a significant number would say Multiply.
It’s quite a mystery why Filipinos have flocked to Multiply over the years, or why the Philippines is now Multiply’s most important market with 2.2 million registered users and over three million unique visits a month. I asked David Hersh, co-owner and VP for Business Development of Multiply, how this all happened. He merely gave a slight shrug and said he wished he had some brilliant marketing answer. But he didn’t. It was by chance.
What chance does Multiply have against Facebook, which recently launched its creator onto the billionaires’ list, and Friendster, another heavy hitter in the Philippine market? “We emphasize relationships,” Hersh says. “Relevance is very important to us.” Whereas its competitors build their network by striving to become the most popular, Multiply makes a conscious effort to ensure that its social network is the most relevant. They don’t believe in the philosophy of just being the “coolest club in town,” Hersh explains, because pretty soon the cool kids will move to someplace else.
This social network wants its users to establish relationships like they would in real life. They want you to share your photos, videos etc. with your family, close friends, classmates, officemates and other people you have real relationships with. This enables Multiply to stay relevant even after the novelty wears off. So while other sites die down and Internet citizens move on to the next new network (and history says they will), Multiply is hoping that its base in real-world relations will keep them standing strong.
Multiply, in its early years, was mainly used to share photos. Today, it is still the most popular photo-sharing website for Filipinos and now allows users to share links, videos, music and also write a blog. It has evolved into a full-fledged multi-service social network. Nearly one million photos, 8,000 videos and 15,000 blog entries are posted daily. The evolution of Multiply, of course, does not end there.
An interesting niche is being carved out in the Multiply network. Micro-entrepreneurs and small business are now using the website as a platform to sell their products.
“Multiply makes it easier because of the network you could build, informing your contacts and even their contacts of updates,” says Janna Robles, owner of the Sophisticat fashion line (http://sophisticat.multiply.com). “I’m really happy with the results. ROI (return on investment) goes from just one to two months.”
Also, Multiply is free. “(I chose to sell on Multiply) because it’s free. You don’t have to rent a store and you can reach a lot of people,” says Li Chua, owner of hoodwINK
Over 50,000 online stores are now on Multiply and the number is increasing with each day. The market is obviously there and ripe for the taking.
This only goes to show that Pinoys value the robust networking philosophy that Multiply employs. It gets you in touch with real people who want to share real experiences (or even real business transactions) in real time. Chances are if you’re on Multiply, you’ll be staying there for quite a while.
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For questions, comments or corrections please e-mail me at carlfrancisramirez@gmail.com.
