Can Cyworld catch MySpace?

Earlier this year, Cyworld, South Korea’s hottest online social networking site, launched a U.S. version of its popular web community.  Cyworld also launched mirror sites in Japan, China, and Taiwan (R.O.C.).  Owned and operated by SK Telecom, one of South Korea’s largest telecommunications companies, Cyworld has been nothing short of phenomenal in South Korea.  According to Wikipedia, 90% of Koreans in their 20’s have a Cyworld account (I’ve read as many as 95% of youth under 29 do), and 25% of all Koreans have a Cyworld account (I believe this to be much higher).  A question has been mulling over in my mind for awhile–can U.S. Cyworld catch up to MySpace, another online social networking phenomenon?  While MySpace does not have the penetration rate in the U.S. that Cyworld has in South Korea, an estimated 50 million visitors visit MySpace each month, more than the entire population of South Korea (est. 48 million).
 
I like both Cyworld and MySpace.  I set up accounts with both sites and tested them out.  Both are comparable and offer compelling products.  Cyworld has a stronger social pull than MySpace, but MySpace offers more features that allow individuals to showcase their talents.  The sites’ objectives differ in that Cyworld has always been about sharing one’s life with family and friends, whereas MySpace began from humble beginnings as a way for people to showcase their talents.  MySpace launched as a site for musicians and music fans to network in a new and different way.  MySpace’ theme is still centered around music, and its success, like that of Apple’s iPod, can be partly attributed to Americans’ strong affinity for music.  Cyworld tapped into South Korean’s affinity for socializing and networking.  Americans aren’t quite as attuned to networking for networking’s sake, which is likely why early social networking sites without specific themes such as Tribe.net and Friendster did not experience the success of MySpace or college-themed site Facebook
 
Will Cyworld catch MySpace and become the biggest social networking site in America, just as it has in South Korea?  No, I don’t think so.  I don’t believe that Cyworld will supplant MySpace as America’s favorite online hangout, just as I don’t believe MySpace could overtake Cyworld in South Korea.  Google has had difficulty competing in South Korea against Naver, Korea’s biggest online search engine, to the point that it recently announced that it will open a research and development center in Korea to figure out how to catch up to Naver.  Likewise, as compelling as Cyworld’s product is, it too will have difficulty beating MySpace on its home turf.  Still, the U.S. social networking market is big enough that there is plenty of room for Cyworld and MySpace to co-exist.  I believe Cyworld will establish a viable presence in the U.S., possibly partnering with SK’s joint venture with EarthLink, Helio.  Helio currently markets MySpace Mobile, but it’s entirely conceivable that it will partner with its sister company, Cyworld, in the not-too-distant future.
 
Which social networking site do I think is the coolest?  Hands down, Second Life is by far the coolest.  Although it requires a good computer graphics card and a downloaded software program, Second Life’s virtual reality interface puts it leagues ahead of any web community bound by static web pages.  Second Life was recently featured in a BusinessWeek Magazine article.  I set up an account and briefly checked it out.  It is quite amazing.  Although I did not explore too far into this strange new world, I imagined its amazing potential and plan to visit again soon.  I would not be surprised if Second Life creates the same kind of buzz next year that MySpace did this year.  Run by a small, private outfit, Second Life will probably get many unsolicited buyout offers from major technology or media companies.
 
Blog Notes:  AP is reporting that New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre may resign or be fired after the Yankees’ loss to the Detroit Tigers in Major League Baseball’s American League Divisional Series.  Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner may rehire former Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and Seattle Mariners Manager Lou Piniella to take his place.  That would add yet another former Mariner to the Yankees roster, extending the Curse of Yamauchi.  Message to Lou Piniella–don’t do it!  You couldn’t manage Tampa Bay!  You’re not going to last three years in Yankees pinstripes!  No matter what, Joe Torre won’t be unemployed for long.  As soon as he’s fired, the have-nots of baseball will be lining up to let him manage their team.
 
Should Google buy YouTube?  YouBet!  Although YouTube competes with Google Video, Google Video is still in beta (as my cousin often likes to note), and YouTube is far more popular.   YouTube fits well into Google’s mission and product offerings.  Like MySpace, YouTube has generated significant buzz this year.  However, before Google invests $1.6 billion of its war chest, it must answer two questions:  1) How will YouTube make it money? and 2) How will it handle copyright issues?  After all, much of YouTube’s uploaded video content is copyrighted, opening the possibility of hefty lawsuits for copyright infringement.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), Google is already grappling with both these issues as it tries to grow its business beyond search.  If Google can figure out how to make money from searchable content it does not produce without intrusive ads, and it can resolve sticky legal issues, then it should invest in YouTube.  At the very least, it should help Google’s stock price!

200,000 hits and the Curse of Yamauchi

Thank you, Dear Reader, for visiting World Adventurers over 200,000 times.  I really appreciate it!  I was very happy to see this blog pass that milestone.  I especially have to thank Google, Technorati, and Baidu for hitting it so often–some of the hits come from Web searches.  Thank you for stopping by to read my musings and post comments.  I will do my best to respond to your comments soon.
 
As if that weren’t enough, the Detroit Tigers eliminated the New York Yankees, the best team money can buy, from post-season play in Major League Baseball.  I am such a happy camper, and I’m not even camping!  Will wonders never cease?  First, the Atlanta Braves’ 14-year playoff streak is broken, then the Yankees become the Braves by making it to the post-season for the ninth time but falling short yet again.  Will Manager Joe Torre be able to keep his job year in and year out without a World Series ring, as has Braves Manager Bobby Cox?  We’ll have to wait and see what Yankees Owner George Steinbrenner does.  Wait, before flaming me, Yankees and Braves fans, consider this–I am a lowly, hapless Seattle Mariners fan.  I root for a team languishing in futility and tantalizes fans with letdown season after letdown season.  It breaks my heart to see two of the greatest Mariners of all time, Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez, playing on the New York Yankees.  Come root for the Mariners for, oh, 29 years, the number of times the Yankees have won the World Series, before casting any sneaky fastballs this way.
 
Actually, watching A-Rod and Randy on the Yankees may be for the best.  I have a theory, and here it is:  No team with a former Seattle Mariner who came up through the Mariners farm system will win the World Series while the Mariner is on that team, unless that player is acquired through a trade with the Mariners (and your team is not the Arizona Diamondbacks–OK, so this theory has a lot of stipulations).  Call it the "Curse of Yamauchi" (in honor of Hiroshi Yamauchi, majority owner of the Mariners).  When Mariner Pitcher Freddy Garcia was traded to the Chicago White Sox, they won the World Series.  When Mariner Pitcher Derek Lowe and Catcher Jason Varitek were traded to the Boston Red Sox for Red Sox Pitcher Heathcliff Slocumb in what will surely go down as the dumbest Mariners trade in history, the Red Sox won the World Series.  The Curse of Yamauchi extended to the Texas Rangers and now to the New York Yankees, who picked up Alex Rodriguez, the greatest shortstop of all time playing third base, as a free agent.  Now that A-Rod is gone, Texas can win a World Series.  The Curse extends to the Cincinnati Reds, who got the deal of the century when they hired possibly the greatest player in the 1990s, Ken Griffey, Jr., who proceeded to implode.  I can’t think of a single Mariners acquired by another team in free agency who has won the World Series, except Randy Johnson, when he was with the Arizona Diamondbacks.  During the 2001 World Series, the Diamondbacks beat the New York Yankees with Randy Johnson on their roster, in spite of Randy Johnson. (Randy is terrible in post-season player–not the pitcher you want to choose for your fantasy baseball team.)  It could be that the Blessing of Gonzo (in honor of Outfielder Luis Gonzalez) trumped the Curse of Yamauchi in that instance. 
 
If the "Curse of Yamauchi" is true, I hope the Yankees go after Ken Griffey, Jr. in the offseason.  With Griffey, A-Rod, and Randy on the Yankees roster, it would be like reliving the glorious, magical 1995 Mariners season, when the Mariners lost to the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series!  It was pure magic.  Until they lost. 

You know you’ve been somewhere too long…

…when you visit the same tourist sites over and over again.  Today we visited Gyungbok Palace in Seoul, this time with my parents.  We visited on Chuseok Day, the day of the harvest moon when the moon is at its fullest.  It’s the third time we’ve been to Gyungbok Palace since we arrived in Korea 1.5 years ago.  Earlier this week, we visited the Korean Folk Village for the third time.  On Wednesday, my wife and parents went on the Korean DMZ tour; I stayed home with my son because I will wait for the next opportunity to visit it again when my cousin arrives in early November for a two week visit.  When he comes to Korea, he will undoubtedly want to see many of the sites we’ve previously visited.  Visiting twice is fine–the third time gets a little old when you add in the cost and time commitment involved with seeing something you’ve already visited once as a tourist. 
 
That’s why locals rarely go see the famous sites close to home.  Locals usually visit once on their own and then save repeat trips for visits with out-of-town guests.  Thank goodness we’re leaving Korea soon, before we visit local tourist attractions for the four or five times!