Facebook vs. Hyves: which to choose?

The social media world is still expanding intensely in Holland. More and more people discover this way to stay in touch and follow your friends, family and acquaintances. Facebook is the most common social media website by far on a global scale with a market share of approximately 60 percent. In the Netherlands however, Hyves has been the leading social media platform and confirmed this status by subscribing the 10 miljonth member in 2010. Although Hyves is still a high roller on Dutch soil, a remarkable shift seems to be taking place concering social media in Holland. But which type of social media should you choose? Which type of social media is hotter? And which type of social media will still be alive and kickin’ 10 years from now? Don’t worry, I will list a score for you, so you can make the right decisions…

1. Research has shown that Facebook is growing rapidly over the last six months of 2010. As a comparison to Hyves, Facebook had a growth of unique visitors of nearly 50% whereas Hyves had a slight decrease of unique visitors (3%). Conclusion: Facebook is more popular at the moment (+1).

1-0 to Facebook

2. Another statistic from the research implies that Facebook keeps its visitors online longer on the website than its fellow social network Hyves does (approximately 19 minutes vs. 9 minutes). Conclusion: Facebook scores higher on engagement (+1).

2-0 to Facebook

3. Looking at the number of pageviews per visit, it can be noticed that Facebook is leading on this statistic as well: 29.1 pageviews for Facebook vs. 18.9 for Hyves. Conclusion: Facebook scores higher on this aspect of engagement as well (+1 again).

3-0 to Facebook.

Looks like a lost cause for Hyves.. However:

4. The same research as mentioned above has shown that Hyves visitors return to the site twice as much as do Facebook visitors (with an average of 30 visits a month vs. 15 visits a month for Facebook). Conclusion: Hyves wins the loyalty aspect (+1)

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5. Looking at google searches, results were in favor of Hyves as well. Hyves was listed as the number 1 search on google whereas Facebook had to settle for 5th place. Conclusion: Hyves scores higher on curiosity (+1)

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6. A final note that has to be made is the fact that Hyves has over 10 million members in the Netherlands versus 4,8 million Dutch Facebook-users. Conclusion: Hyves is still the biggest social media site in the Netherlands (+1).

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That settles it. Based on this research I conclude it’s a draw. My own conclusion however: Facebook is the future. I will tell you why. Facebook is the growing social media site in Holland. It’s internationally accepted and used which implies that more and better apps and other gadgets will be available for your mobile phones, Ipads and personal computers. Next to these arguments, I could mention the usability of Facebook, which is way better in comparison to Hyves in my opinion. Another argument could be the image of Facebook. Hyves has a much more childish and small-scaled vibe to it whereas Facebook looks global and straightforward. Although my own preference is Facebook, I think Hyves surely can exist next to Facebook. The major reason I think this is the target group. Where Hyves should be focussing on the age-groups below 17 and above approximately 40, Facebook is much more useful for students, therefore the age-group from 18 years and older. This is a trend I see in my own surroundings as well.

Thanks for reading, I hope it’s been of any use to you!