http://www.personio.com/viewuser.asp?userid=2754

http://h20325.www2.hp.com/blogs/kintz/archive/2006/04/08/883.html

Eric

Cyworld, besides the obvious of allowing people to keep in touch with friends and meet friends of friends before ever having met in real life, is also a product of the high level of density in the country and its technological infrastructure. With 50 million Koreans crammed inside half of a tiny peninsula (think 50 million in Ireland), Koreans are a united people by necessity and don’t have much privacy at home or in the streets. Along with the fact that internet per capita is insanely high as is the frequent usage of the internet, Cyworld gives Koreans a chance to create their own world , but more importantly, a private world in which to share with only those they choose. For example, a page may be made accessible to the public, but the photos alone could be viewable by just one’s “friends” or even by no one if the user so chooses.

And someone mentioned how Cyworld was a horrible name. “Cy” in Korean means relation, so in essence, “Relationship World.” Of course, no English speaker would ever be aware of that. But relationship is key here. Koreans in real life tend to spend time with who they know only. Go to a bar and everyone spends the night with their friends rather than meeting new people. Cyworld gives people a chance to become familiar with each other’s friends before meeting in real life. Also, everyone has a page there. Celebrities, athletes, politicians all use Cyworld to connect with the people, often in favour of actual websites. Somehow I could never see Brad Pitt ever using a blog to connect with his fans.

Americans and Canadians don’t need to create their privacy online, they have it in their own bedrooms and empty spaces. Nor are they heavy-duty bloggers. You can buy “Cyworld money” at the store in Korea, I can’t ever see that happening in North America. Cyworld was a brilliant idea for the Korean population but I don’t think it will fly here.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/04/17/the-engadget-interview-sky-dayton-helio-ceo/

Also, “immensely profitable” is a bit of an overstatement (“earning over $12 million on revenue of $110 million”). I can guarantee you MySpace does a lot more than that!

At the same time, Cyworld adds a new dimension of expression–and THAT is what’s dangerous for MySpace. Cyworld is absolutely right in that it’s about expression, particularly for that age group.

And while Mashable is absolutely right in the demographics appeal, over-commercialization of said group is bound to bring about the same level of protest from parents as MySpace (unless MySpace really messes up, at which point the “At least it’s not MySpace” argument emerges).

If I was MySpace, my greatest concern would be a long-term erosion of users as they grow up. All it takes is for the 11-15 year-old group that uses Cyworld to grow up and use a “new” service by Cyworld more like MySpace with seamless transition features.

http://mashable.com/2006/03/30/cyworld-us-will-it-topple-myspace/

I agree with your analysis – and thanks for the link. I got in briefly during the (accidental) public beta and posted some screenshots:

http://mashable.com/2006/03/30/cyworld-us-will-it-topple-myspace/