THE ROAD TO HALF A BILLION graphiti
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Launched February 2004 Spanish and French launch German launch Opens office in India 21 additional languages launch FACEBOOK USERS 1 million 5.5 mil. 12 mil. 20 mil. 50 million 100 million 200 million 500 million 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Opens headquarters for Europe, Middle East, and Africa in Dublin Facebook Zero launches in 45 countries 12-MONTH GROWTH MARKET PENETRATION Argentina Australia Austria Bangladesh Belgium Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Canada Chile China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Estonia Finland Germany Ghana Greece Guatemala Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kenya Kuwait Lebanon Lithuania Malaysia Mexico Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan West Bank and Gaza Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Saudi Arabia Serbia Singapore Slovakia South Africa S. Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Thailand Tunisia Turkey Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam France 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 % 0 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 70% 65% Regions North America Latin America Europe Australasia Africa Middle East 143 million 25 10 1 2 Audience size Graphiti 20 technology review January/February 2011 Graphiti 21 www.technologyreview.com Making Friends Facebook still has lots of room to grow. W ith three-quarters of its 500 million users outside the United States, Facebook has spread to every corner of the globe. But there are still plenty of people who have yet to be lured into the social network—and could be soon. As this graph shows, Facebook is only just beginning to ripple through the popula- tions of such large countries as India and Brazil. It is also still a minor player in Japan and South Korea. And it is banned in China, the biggest Web market of all. For most of its first six years, Face- book was largely able to sit back and let its audience expand naturally, thanks to the power of the network effect. But it now has to work harder to establish a presence in markets like Japan and South Korea, which—partly because those coun- tries already have successful homegrown Web services—have been hard for west- ern companies to crack. However, one success story suggests that the company can do well in East Asia. In Taiwan, which also has a well- established Web ecosystem and is similar to Japan and South Korea in terms of broadband connectivity and technical literacy, nearly a third of all residents and half of all Internet users have a Face- book account. One factor in the growth has been a ready supply of social games for Taiwanese to play on Facebook. Such games are often created by developers in mainland China, even though the govern- ment prevents most of their countrymen from playing them. —Matt Mahoney SOUTH KOREA The world’s most connected country has resisted western Web companies. Facebook shows signs of breaking through. EASTERN EUROPE Having reached saturation in most of Western Europe, Facebook is spreading rapidly through countries that were in the Soviet Bloc. THE ROAD TO HALF A BILLION Over the past two years, Facebook has been solidifying its international presence. It has crowdsourced the translation of its site into dozens of languages, opened new offices abroad, and launched Facebook Zero, a stripped-down version aimed at countries where people are more likely to connect using a cell phone than a PC. INDIA Last year, Facebook surpassed Orkut as its most popular social network. INDONESIA The Muslim nation is now Facebook’s second-largest audience. TAIWAN This country and Hong Kong offer clues about how popular Facebook could become in mainland China. CHINA The Great Firewall stymies Facebook’s efforts to reach one-fifth of the world’s population. U.S., U.K., AND CANADA These countries still account for a third of Facebook’s audience and, most likely, the vast majority of the company’s revenue. ICELAND Facebook has benefited from intensified network effects in a small, densely settled nation. Information graphic by TOMMY McCALL and MATT MAHONEY Sources: Audience data is from Inside Net- work’s Facebook Global Monitor report for November 2010; 2009 population data from the World Bank was used to calculate market penetration. graphiti
Transcript of THE ROAD TO HALF A BILLION graphiti
Launched February 2004
Spanish and French launch
German launch
Opens o�ce in India
21 additional languages launch
FACEBOOK USERS
1 million 5.5 mil. 12 mil. 20 mil.50 million
100 million200 million
500 million
2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Opens headquarters for Europe,Middle East, and Africa in Dublin
Facebook Zero launchesin 45 countries
12
-MO
NT
H G
RO
WT
H
MARKET PENETRATION
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Belgium
BoliviaBosnia and Herzegovina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
ChileChina
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador Estonia
Finland
GermanyGhana
Greece
Guatemala
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
JamaicaJapan Jordan
KenyaKuwait
Lebanon
Lithuania
Malaysia
Mexico
Morocco
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Norway
OmanPakistan
West Bank and Gaza
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Serbia
Singapore
Slovakia
South Africa
S. Korea
Spain
Sri Lanka
SwedenSwitzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Tunisia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
UnitedStates
Uruguay
Venezuela
Vietnam
France
50
100
150
200
250
300
350%
0 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%35% 40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 70%65%
Regions
North America
Latin America
Europe
Australasia
Africa
Middle East
143 million
25
10
1
2
Audience size
Graphiti20 technology review January/February 2011 Graphiti 21www.technologyreview.com
Making FriendsFacebook still has lots of room to grow.
W ith three-quarters of its 500 million users outside the United States,
Facebook has spread to every corner of the globe. But there are still plenty of people who have yet to be lured into the social network—and could be soon. As this graph shows, Facebook is only just beginning to ripple through the popula-tions of such large countries as India and Brazil. It is also still a minor player in Japan and South Korea. And it is banned in China, the biggest Web market of all.
For most of its first six years, Face-book was largely able to sit back and let its audience expand naturally, thanks to the power of the network effect. But
it now has to work harder to establish a presence in markets like Japan and South Korea, which—partly because those coun-tries already have successful homegrown Web services—have been hard for west-ern companies to crack.
However, one success story suggests that the company can do well in East Asia. In Taiwan, which also has a well-established Web ecosystem and is similar to Japan and South Korea in terms of broadband connectivity and technical literacy, nearly a third of all residents and half of all Internet users have a Face-book account. One factor in the growth has been a ready supply of social games for Taiwanese to play on Facebook. Such games are often created by developers in mainland China, even though the govern-ment prevents most of their countrymen from playing them. —Matt Mahoney
SOUTH KOREA The world’s most connected country has resisted western Web companies. Facebook shows signs of breaking through.
EASTERN EUROPE Having reached saturation in most of Western Europe, Facebook is spreading rapidly through countries that were in the Soviet Bloc.
THE ROAD TO HALF A BILLIONOver the past two years, Facebook has been solidifying its international presence. It has crowdsourced the translation of its site into dozens of languages, opened new offices abroad, and launched Facebook Zero, a stripped-down version aimed at countries where people are more likely to connect using a cell phone than a PC.
INDIA Last year, Facebook surpassed Orkut as its most popular social network.
INDONESIA The Muslim nation is now Facebook’s second-largest audience.
TAIWAN This country and Hong Kong offer clues about how popular Facebook could become in mainland China.
CHINA The Great Firewall stymies Facebook’s efforts to reach one-fifth of the world’s population.
U.S., U.K., AND CANADA These countries still account for a third of Facebook’s audience and, most likely, the vast majority of the company’s revenue.
ICELAND Facebook has benefited from intensified network effects in a small, densely settled nation.
Information graphic by
TOMMY McCALL and
MAT T MAHONEY
Sources: Audience data is from Inside Net-work’s Facebook Global Monitor report for November 2010; 2009 population data from the World Bank was used to calculate market penetration.
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