Cyworld Vietnam

Winners of the 2010 Red Herring 100 Asia Award, Cyworld Vietnam provides Vietnamese a social networking platform to manage their identities online within a trust-based community. Users have full control over their identity, using privacy settings to maintain security and safety while sharing themselves through user created content. This security and trust helps users to maintain existing friendships as well as be more open about establishing new ones, even if they have never met those people personally. Cyworld’s emphasis on privacy is culturally unique, as it is common for Vietnamese to live at home with their parents and other siblings well into adulthood, and oftentimes, even after marriage. For many Vietnamese, their Cyworld profile is the one area in life they feel they can claim as their own private space.