Friendster: Asia's Social Network

Social network Friendster has over 30 million monthly visitors worldwide, says Comscore. The problem (or perhaps the opportunity) is that just 1.7 million of those visitors are in the U.S. The vast majority, nearly 28 million, are in the Asia/Pacific region.

The company’s new CEO, Richard Kimber, is based in Sydney Australia. Friendster’s old San Francisco headquarters have been relocated as well, and the company now has a small Mountain View office for U.S. employees. Today the company announced that they’ve opened new offices in Singapore and Sydney. They have existing offices in the Philippines. A majority of the company’s employees are now in the Asia Pacific region, and at least 85% of new hires going forward will be based there.

There is a terrific monetization opportunity in the region over the long haul, but the company must be hurting for revenue today. Ad rates aren’t anywhere near comparable to the U.S. and Europe. Luckily the company has a fresh $20 million venture round to see it through.