Draugiem.lv might not have a billion users. But it owns the web--and some of the biggest brains on it--in Latvia. Here's what Facebook could learn from it.
When Facebook hits the inevitable user plateau, perhaps it should take a cue from Eastern Europe. Latvia’s largest social network, Draugiem.lv, conquered its home country’s social landscape, then expanded to become a self-described “breeding ground for IT innovations and startups.”
Launched in 2004 by Lauris Liberts and Agris Tamanis, Draugiem.lv is one of few social networks to still beat Facebook in their home country; Draugiem boasts 1.2 million Latvian users over Facebook’s 327,000, according to Jānis Palkavnieks, Draugiem Group spokesperson.
“Five hundred thousand log in to the network every day,” Palkavnieks says. Active users average 44 minutes per day, generating a billion page views per month.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A TOUR OF THE Draugiem.lv HEADQUARTERSBut what’s cooler than a billion page views? Owning the entire Internet (in one’s native language, at least). “Its about 44% of all Latvian internet,” Palkavnieks says.
Advertising revenues on social networks are notoriously abysmal--Draugiem brings in under $20 million a year. To squeeze more revenue from its grip on Latvian Internet users, Draugiem has opened up something akin to New York City’s Betaworks to incubate ancillary tech companies.
“The biggest stock holder Agris Tamanis is a big fan of gadgets and that's why we are producing technology also,” Palkavniesks says.
From digital vending machine monitoring to smart home systems to lead-gen analytics, the social network has sprouted 11 startups to date. It’s created Latvian versions of RescueTime and Groupon, an inspirational quote site, and even a “design your own bracelet” store called FriendlyBracelets.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW A TOUR OF THE Draugiem.lv HEADQUARTERS“Latvians mostly prefer local brands, and on top of that, we’re able to react very quickly to...
[Source: Fast Company]
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