Group 1 Proposal


(we are Chupika, we chupi chupi pi...)

To: Mr Jonathan Abrams
Founder and Creator of Friendster

From: Group 1
Josie Png, Lim Kai Hong, Li Zhaojin, Nguyen Le Thanh

Proposal on ideas to make Friendster friendlier

Friendster is one of the most popular social networking sites which has more than 36 million members worldwide. However, she is facing stiff competition from from an ever-increasing number of social networking sites such as Blogspot, YouTube, or Yahoo 360!. It is important for her to constantly progress, implementing more interesting features, in order to survive in such a competitive and globalised technology age. Hence, we would like to bring forward some of our ideas that might be beneficial in improving Friendster, in order to make her stay firmly in this cyberspace.

To start with, an introduction of an online forum would make Friendster more happening as well as the users happy. Not only does it expand one’s social network, but it also enhances social interaction between different people. It allows people from all walks of life to come together and discuss on topics that interest them, it may be the latest hot news, personal pastime, or even a help-line for those who in need of advice. For example, soccer fanatics can come together to share their opinions on the latest soccer match or discuss about their favourite soccer player. Furthermore, one can also create their own forum, which allows only specific people (for example, their friends) to access. This would definitely give them their own privacy.

To add on, Friendster has to be more user friendly. Many people had complaint about Friendster being difficult to access and use. Therefore, the implementation of a guidebook would definitely be useful for newcomers. It would contain a step-by-step procedure from how to upload your photos to how to customize your own homepage. Also, it would include a live Question And Answer (Q&A) section, whereby users can enquire about anything that they were doubtful about, and answers would be replied to them readily within minutes not days, as in the normal system today. In this way, users would not have to spend their time sending an email and waiting to receive the replies. It is not only timesaving, but also handy at the same time. Besides, the layout in Friendster is standardized and it would be boring for everyone to have the same layout. Hence, we appeal to you to improve on this area, by allowing people to rearrange or create their own layout. In this way, every homepage would be different and has its own character that suits its owner.

Lastly, holding and organizing competitions would definitely bring more life to Friendster. It would give everyone in Friendster an opportunity to show case their talents and creative juices. For example, through competitions like “The Best Blogger Award” or “The Best Layout Design” and even “The Most Fantastic Self-photo Taken”, cyber citizens would be encouraged to access Friendster more frequently, as well as, win attractive prizes and somehow or other, to be the limelight of the day. Winners will be voted by public and be featured on Friendster’s homepage for a month.

In conclusion, the addition of these features would definitely make Friendster a more user friendly and popular social networking website among the rest. Hence, we look forward to receive your reply and hope that you would consider our proposals favourably.

14 August 2007

Group 1 ‘Chupika!’