Friendster is still no.1 social network in Malaysia, in almost every aspects. MySpace used to be no.2 in Malaysia but has since been overtook by Facebook in 2008.

comScore (source)
Measurement: Unique visitors from Malaysia, in May 2008.

1. Friendster (3,024,000 unique visitors)
2. Facebook (758,000)
3. MySpace (735,000)

Observation: Friendster is at least 4 times bigger than Facebook or MySpace!

Alexa (source)
Measurement: Traffic ranking in Malaysia, as of Dec 2008.

1. Friendster (No.3 most visited site)
2. Facebook (No.8)
3. MySpace (No.10)

Observation: Ning and Hi5 is at a distance No.43 and 64 respectively.

Google Insights for Search (source)
Measurement: Most googled term in Malaysia, as of Dec 2008.

1. Friendster
2. Facebook
3. MySpace

Observation: By looking at the interest over time graph, Facebook has just overtook MySpace in Oct 2008.



Why Friendster is so successful in Malaysia?

• First-mover advantage. Friendster is already popular here since 2004, compared to MySpace around 2006 and Facebook by end of 2007. Resistance to change, if you are wondering why.
• Ease of usage. Friendster is easier to use in relative to Facebook's crowded applications. Average internet users would have just lookup their friends, upload photos and share them among friends.
• Appeal to all races. I am not sure why but it seems that MySpace only managed to attract local Malays, perhaps due to its music streaming feature. Meanwhile, Friendster has done better in attracting all races.
• Personalization. Young users are usually keen to show off their identity. They can always personalize their profile (with theme, background etc.) in Friendster, but not in Facebook.