Here’s some interesting data on search trends for social networking sites in India using Google Insights for Search data for 2008.
Orkut is way ahead at #1, but stagnant, Facebook is #2 and rising, while Hi5, Ibibo and MySpace are far behind.
The data is consistent with Alexa traffic data for India which ranks Orkut at #4, Facebook at #11, Hi5 at #37, Ibibo at #58 and MySpace #73.
Looking at data from 2004 shows that Orkut suffered serious setbacks in mid 2007, when facebook started to take off.
The statewise search data shows that Orkut has spread even to the most remote parts of India. Facebook, Hi5 and Ibibo also have almost full reach, but they are more concentrated in specific states. MySpace is still to breakthrough into the Hindi heartland of India.
Also see my analysis of search trends for group SMS and microblogging services in India using Google Insights for Search data.
