The Roundup

1. Viet Circle: Viet Circle is the first entry that shows up when you search “Vietnamese Networks.”  It is a custom-built site that resembles MySpace.  The network seems active, perhaps due to its ability to sign on some young Vietnamese stars (e.g. Cung Le).  Of the sites I’ve found, Viet Circle seems most active and closely resembles the social networks most Americans know.  However, the site seems dated and is encumbered by advertisements.
2. Cafe 75: Cafe 75 is second up on the search results.  It is a dated site with little interaction.  When you sign on, the site indicates how many users are online.  I have yet to see a member online.  I’m not a doctor, but my prognosis is Cafe 75 is DOA (I’m lame, I know.)
3. Vietnamese Social Network: Or vietmee.com, looks like a technically well- engineered site, and it is.  That is because it’s based off WordPress MU, a popular blogging platform (like Blogger or Tumblr).  It fact, vietmee.com carries the default theme, which is a big negative.  At the end of the day, with only 56 members, it doesn’t qualify as a real social network.
4. Vietopia: Vietopia.com is by far the most visually pleasing of the bunch.  The site is modern, beautiful, and seemingly teeming with content.  However, although it brands itself as a social network, Vietopia is more of a blog.  In fact, it is based off the same WordPress platform as Vietmee.com.  But of the websites discussed, I would most likely visit Vietopia again because of its content.
5. VietsToday, Viet Social Network, and Luyen Chuong:  I have decided to lump these three together because they are very similar.  They are build on the Vbulletin platform which is traditionally used for forums.  Many of you old-timers know that forums are one of the earliest forms of social networks, where users post discussions in threads of topics.  This format, of course, is very old and is not used in modern networks.  Because of its traditional interface and focus on long texts, these networks do not appeal to the young, modern Facebook generation.

Conclusion

Of the networks I’ve found, only two came out to be a true social network by today’s definitions: Viet Circle and Vietmee.com.  The rest are better categorized as community blogs or forums.  Of the bunch, Viet Circle offers the most familiar social networking experience.  Yet, the site tries to do too much (includes restaurant reviews, event planning), runs an outdated model (think MySpace), and is not actively developed.

The Vietnamese expat community still lacks a true network.  With over 3 million people spread across 30 countries, there is a definite need for a network that can bring us together.  I have reasons to believe that kind of network will be coming very soon (*wink).

Did I miss any big ones?  What would you like to see in a Vietnamese social network?  Let us know!

Disclosure: I am a principal member of the OneVietnam Network team, a social venture that is in the process of building an online network for Vietnamese expatriates.  More about us at www.onevietnam.org.