Have you ever tried Facebook in China? If you can do it, please do let me know. Facebook.com is actually blocked by government censors. No single social network will conquer the China market in the immediate future, least of all a foreign one.

However, there are few Social Networking sites in China and there is fierce competition among the top four: RenRen, Kaixin001, Qzone and 51.com. Most Chinese are members of multiple SNS, on average 2.8, according to the Chinese Internet Network Information Centre. In China, the social network scene is crowded and competitive, though clear separation exists between the top four and ‘the rest’ in terms of mass-market viability.

Accordding to the ranking from Alexa, and China Rank, the Chinese Internet Network Information Centre conducted 3007 telephone interviews on SNS across China in 2009, Qzone has 22% market share of social network users, RenRen has 17%, Kaixin001 has 12% and 51.com has 12%.

The competition is open and fierce between the top four networks in China. Especially RenRen is starting to push outward from university into both younger and older demographics since teens are became internet savvy and start abandon Qzone. Moreover, students move into the workplace, they should remain loyal to RenRen encroaching upon Kaixin001, 51.com that they are facing a diffculty to retain their users in lower tier cities. In the social network universe in China though fractured by different demographics for now, may gradually coalesce around RenRen.

Published in ‘Digital Beat’