According to Western reports , the site looks to rival Twitter as users can view friend’s updates as they happen in real time. Leaked shots of its homepage show Facebook Lite’s interface resembles Twitter’s, with a friend feed dominating the centre of the page and the option for users to search trends.
It is also said to include smaller pictures and lower-resolution videos to achieve its ‘lighter’ status.
Reports add that Facebook Lite is currently being tested in India and will soon be available in China and Russia, which are markets where Facebook is actively looking to recruit new users.
The company has said that it is experiencing its most rapid growth in Asia, with Indonesia and the Philippines its most promising markets. Introducing Facebook Lite to these countries would be beneficial because of the vast amount of mobile users who rely on their phones for their internet connection, managing partner of Third Space Consulting Nick Fawbert said, but it would still have an uphill battle to dislodge the most dominant social networks in the region’s markets.
In China, for example, Tencent’s QQ is the most popular social network with more than 800 million registered users. Meanwhile, South Korea has Cyworld, Japan has Mixi, most Indians use Orkut and Southeast Asia is still largely dominated by Friendster.
Fawbert added that designing a lighter, faster site could work for those new to the internet. “I think the idea that you have lower-weight pages that people can download are pretty critical in Southeast Asia – just look at how much Indonesian users rely on dial-up internet,” he said. “I absolutely welcome any attempt at varying the download weights and making social networking faster.”
However, he argued that this on its own might not be enough to make existing social network users switch. “For people to switch to Facebook there needs to be a noticeable difference that it’s quicker and easier. But people don’t use social networks from a purely technical vantage point: they go there because their friends are on a social network, and that’s where the challenge lies.”
The news comes during a busy week for Facebook, which includes its announced US$50 million acquisition of FriendFeed and the launch of an improved search function.
It is also said to include smaller pictures and lower-resolution videos to achieve its ‘lighter’ status.
Reports add that Facebook Lite is currently being tested in India and will soon be available in China and Russia, which are markets where Facebook is actively looking to recruit new users.
The company has said that it is experiencing its most rapid growth in Asia, with Indonesia and the Philippines its most promising markets. Introducing Facebook Lite to these countries would be beneficial because of the vast amount of mobile users who rely on their phones for their internet connection, managing partner of Third Space Consulting Nick Fawbert said, but it would still have an uphill battle to dislodge the most dominant social networks in the region’s markets.
In China, for example, Tencent’s QQ is the most popular social network with more than 800 million registered users. Meanwhile, South Korea has Cyworld, Japan has Mixi, most Indians use Orkut and Southeast Asia is still largely dominated by Friendster.
Fawbert added that designing a lighter, faster site could work for those new to the internet. “I think the idea that you have lower-weight pages that people can download are pretty critical in Southeast Asia – just look at how much Indonesian users rely on dial-up internet,” he said. “I absolutely welcome any attempt at varying the download weights and making social networking faster.”
However, he argued that this on its own might not be enough to make existing social network users switch. “For people to switch to Facebook there needs to be a noticeable difference that it’s quicker and easier. But people don’t use social networks from a purely technical vantage point: they go there because their friends are on a social network, and that’s where the challenge lies.”
The news comes during a busy week for Facebook, which includes its announced US$50 million acquisition of FriendFeed and the launch of an improved search function.
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