December 6th, 2009 
Jojo Agot
Despite my bland reaction when I saw the new Friendster makeover, I did manage to find some interesting features that I think would bring this site forward.
The first that caught my attention is the inclusion of free classified ads. Unlike other countries, online buying is still at its early stages in the Philippines. Pinoy internet users are still paranoid about paying without money but this could change anytime soon. With free advertisements on Friendster, people will get used to the idea of doing transactions online and may eventually try it out. Sure we’ve seen this in eBay but the difference here is that the ads are built into the social networking site. Somehow this sounds reliable community to me. Kudos to the Friendster team for this genius idea.
The second feature that I found interesting is Globe Telecom’s GCash. For us Filipinos, this is like finally finding the connection between our online and offline lives. In the past, internet felt like a separate fantasy world you plug yourself in whenever you open a browser and you get out of it the moment you logout. With GCash being integrated to Friendster, our currencies can now crossover the boundaries of online and offline worlds. I have a hunch t that if Friendster is ever going to reclaim its share in the social networking pie, GCash is going to have an important role in it, at least in the Philippines.
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