
As More Asian Developers Build for Facebook, Regional Usage Patterns Change - bd
http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/12/08/as-more-asian-developers-build-for-facebook-regional-usage-patterns-change/
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"But fundamentally, Facebook has always articulated its value proposition as a
more efficient way to share information in a trusted way. Personal data shared
by Facebook users is what makes the News Feed--the core of Facebook’s
information distribution system--so compelling to hundreds of millions of
people. In cases in which the News Feed is filled with content from random
gaming friends, it’s quite possible that Facebook could see much lower
retention rates from its core features over time, instead more heavily relying
on games to drive engagement and growth. If that were to indeed be the case on
a wide scale, that could present some tensions for Facebook’s core product
design--and business--over time."

The rapid rate of growth of Facebook use in Taiwan, if correctly estimated, is
quite astounding. I have many relatives there, and they mostly use Facebook in
the "western" way, as communication among real-life friends. (Most of my
practice in reading Chinese online recently comes from reading relatives'
Facebook status messages on Facebook.) But if there is a new pattern of gamers
having random "friends," that would indeed change the Facebook experience for
many users.

