Which websites are most popular in Singapore?

You get an interesting insight into people’s interests via Alexa’s Top Sites feature. Comparing global and Singapore usage (from Top Sites Singapore):

SINGAPORE Top 10
1. Yahoo!
2. Microsoft Network (MSN)
3. YouTube
4. Friendster
5. Google.com.sg
6. Google
7. Blogger.com
8. Windows Live
9. Megaupload
10. LiveJournal.com
GLOBAL Top 10
1. Yahoo!
2. Microsoft Network (MSN)
3. Google
4. Baidu.com
5. Myspace
6. YouTube
7. Orkut.com
8. Windows Live
9. www.qq.com
10.www.sina.com.cn


It is interesting that there are 3 Chinese language sites in the top 10 globally. (Baidu is a popular Chinese search engine.) Growing Internet usage is yet another aspect of the rise and rise of China.

My observations, compared to global usage:

  • Singaporeans like watching movies (YouTube)
  • Singaporeans are lonely (Friendster)
  • Singaporeans are heavily into blogging (Blogger.com and LiveJournal)
  • Singaporeans just love to share files (music? videos?) at MegaUpload

Curiously, Singapore has a higher proportion of Chinese people (about 77%) compared to the whole world (about 17%), but the use of Chinese web sites (qq.com and sina.com.cn) is not as high in Singapore as it is globally. Baidu at #12 and 6park.com at #18 are the highest ranking Chinese-specific sites used in Singapore. Sure, English language use is widespread among the Singaporean Chinese, but still…

You can find out the usage patterns for your country at Top Sites.

Note: The Alexa statistics are obtained from users that have the Alexa toolbar installed. So the above lists are only an indication of relative traffic and may not be accurate. It could well be that the Alexa toolbar is used a lot in China, and this would have the effect of moving the qq.com and sina.com sites higher up the global list.

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Posted in Computers & Internet, Mathematics, Travel & Culture - December 31st, 2006.

5 Comments on “Which websites are most popular in Singapore?”

  1. Jacky Peng Says:
    5 Jan 2007 at 1:18 pm Link to this comment

    >>Curiously, Singapore has a higher proportion of Chinese people (about 77%) compared to the whole world (about 17%), but the use of Chinese web sites (qq.com and sina.com.cn) is not as high in Singapore as it is globally.

    It is not a surprise to me. Just look around, there are so few Singaporean Chinese can read Chinese, though most of them can speak Mandarin well. I think that is a problem of Chinese language itself. Reading and writing are completely different from listening and speaking.

  2. little bridge » 一点新加坡 Says:
    14 Jan 2007 at 8:21 am Link to this comment

    [...] 在新加坡的线上生活这篇文章里我们可以看到新加坡有各种非常活跃的网上互动。Zac分析了新加坡最热门的网站，说新加坡人很喜欢写Blog。大家再看看最近在全球之声上的这一篇总结2006年新加坡的新媒体政治，新加坡比中国有开放得多的新媒体言论：中国有各种人在写博，没有部长博客；中国有各种恶搞，没人敢把领导人在人民大会堂上的讲话来做成Rap。 [...]

  3. zac Says:
    15 Jan 2007 at 4:27 am Link to this comment

    Hey Jacky. How about a translation for those of us who are “Mandarin challenged’? Thanks.

  4. Jacky Says:
    18 Jan 2007 at 8:11 am Link to this comment

    hi zac,

    in my post, I compare the traditional media and the new media in Singapore. I think we can get a more genuine voice from the new media in Singapore.

    I cite your conclusion “Singaporeans are heavily into blogging” in my post.

    cheers!

  5. zac Says:
    18 Jan 2007 at 9:03 am Link to this comment

    Thanks, Jacky!

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