Before the Facebook dynasty, Friendster and Multiply were the go to guys for social networking. Friendster eventually bit the dust and evolved into a gaming site. Now, it’s Multiply’s turn to bid the social networking scene farewell as Stefan Magdalinski, CEO of the famous site, has announced they’ll be shutting down Multiply’s content sharing and social networking functions.

Specifically, they’ll be removing the photo and video sharing, social messaging, and blogging features of Multiply, marking an end of an era. December 1 will be D-day for these services, after which, Multiply will then just focus on their current biggest strength – e-commerce.

And guess who their target market is for the new Multiply? Philippines (and Indonesia too)!

Here’s the complete announcement that greets Multiply users when they log in to their account:

Hello. Stefan here, writing you from Multiply HQ in Jakarta, Indonesia.

As most of you are probably aware, Multiply’s mission has evolved over the past year and a half to become the biggest and most beloved ecommerce marketplace in two very exciting markets, Indonesia and the Philippines. As our focus has shifted, we have reviewed all of our operations, and made some decisions that will affect everyone here.

From December 1st, we will unfortunately no longer be able to support Multiply in its current form – notably we will be removing the social networking and content sharing part of Multiply (photos, videos, blogs, social messaging, etc.). We have decided to discontinue providing and hosting these services, as we have concluded that other Internet sites who are committed to social networking services will do a better job serving you than we can.

For our existing users of social networking features, we will be providing easy ways for you to either download your stuff (photos, blogs, content, etc), or migrate it to other online services. We’ll announce the precise details shortly. It will be your choice whether to download, migrate or just let your content lapse (and get deleted).

For our existing ecommerce users (both buyers and sellers) in Indonesia and the Philippines, there will be no action required.
Regarding any existing Multiply Premium subscriptions we will refund any unused balance, and apologize for any inconvenience this will cause. Please contact customer service to request a refund. Note that this is for Multiply Premium, not the ecommerce related Multiply Trust product.

I am aware of how disruptive this news may be, and understand the disappointment that it may cause. Ultimately this was a business decision, critical to our to success moving forward. Instead, we are excited to pursue our own mission to give the 350 million consumers in Indonesia and the Philippines a great way to buy and sell items online. Our singular focus now is for Multiply to retain its status as a vibrant e-commerce destination in Southeast Asia in the years ahead.

I suspect that many of you will not like this news, and am sorry to have to deliver it now. I hope that you will be able to understand the reasons for our decision and thank you for being a part of the Multiply community over the past eight years.

Stef

So no, similar to Friendster, it’s not exactly a goodbye for Multiply. Well, it is for those who still use it as a social networking site, but come on, does anyone still use Multiply for anything else aside from selling or buying stuff?

Full story here.

Allan David

Online, Allan’s got you covered as far as news (and some reviews every now and then) goes. Offline, you’ll see him either sweating it out in the badminton courts or dining out in one of the new restos around town. His favorite noodles: cold soba.

email: allan@technoodling.netwebsite: http://oasis1.wordpress.com