Buzz
2010, a decade has passed, and the communication methods of gossip circles have gradually transformed, becoming more 'technological and modernized'!
'Looking back on the ups and downs of months and years,
In this lifetime, how many times will we have 10 years?'
***
2010, sounds like just yesterday, but in reality, it's already the past, and specifically, the current state of the past 10 years! A decade may not be too long, but it's not short either, and how many times do we have 10 years in a lifetime?
In 2010, Yahoo was still thriving, and people were fervently buzzing with friends whenever they were online, or exchanging a few SMS messages using the legendary black-and-white Nokia 1280.
By 2020, Facebook, Instagram, Zalo... had risen to prominence, accompanied by names like Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom Meeting, Skype... serving online learning and work during the Covid era.
A decade has flown by like a gust of wind, looking back, many familiar things have become mere memories. It's unclear exactly when it happened, but upon reflection, everyone realizes that some friends haven't messaged in ages, some websites are no longer active, or those once-beloved tech giants have now been phased out.
From 2010 to 2020, that period of time was enough to witness the transformation of the gossip circle's melon-selling communication habits, becoming more 'technological and modernized' than ever before!
Back then, social media was still a somewhat vague concept. Facebook, launched in 2005, made its appearance in Vietnam by the end of 2006. However, this giant was merely a sprouting sapling full of promise but still lacked the allure for the youth.
Hence, people remained loyal to their own communities and communicated through apps and websites like Zingme, Ola, and famous forums (VOZ, Webtretho, Truongton.net, Tinhte.vn, Vforum, Otofun.net, Yeuamnhac.com, Dienanh.net...).
Zingme , although just launched in September 2009, quickly gained popularity with its solid foundation. By November 2010, Zing Me had surpassed both domestic and international competitors to become the most widely used social network in Vietnam, with about 3.4 million comments, 1 million shared photos, and nearly 15,000 blogs daily.
Zingme allows users to customize their personal page layout similar to a blog.
Forum in the years 2010 - 2012 still enjoyed its heyday. Starting to flourish in Vietnam from the years 2005 - 2006, some forums quickly attracted millions of participants such as 5giay, Ttvnol, Tinhte, Webtretho, Yeuamnhac... By 2007-2008, some brands began to see forums as fertile ground to sow their messages. Many successful campaigns were executed on forums, reaping impressive results like those of Nescafe and Honda...
Yeuamnhac used to be the most famous forum for music lovers.
When talking about the famous communication channels of the 8x and early 9x generations, one cannot overlook Ola. It was considered the first Vietnamese social network, launched in 2007. Ola experienced a boom around 2010 - 2011 with many interesting features such as reading online newspapers, looking up karaoke song lists, searching dictionaries, reading stories, playing games, and sharing photos, videos, and feelings... While there's no specific number to prove it, Ola was probably the second most widely used messaging app in Vietnam after Yahoo!
Speaking of ubiquitous chat platforms and melon-selling communication, Ola probably ranked second only to Yahoo.
As for the legend of Yahoo, the golden age (around 2002 - 2007) has passed when everyone's first computer opening was Yahoo. However, in the period 2010 - 2011, it remained an unshakable monument. Yahoo at this time was neither in its infancy nor at its peak, yet many young people still saw it as the primary communication channel with friends.
Yahoo - a youthful era never forgotten by the 8x, 9x generation.
Thai Ho Nguyen, an early 9x now in his thirties, nostalgically recalls the glorious past with Yahoo and Yahoo 360 Blog, saying: 'Blogs had various effects like falling snow, then the background music 'Cold Winter Love Story' was hot back then. Just the music and background images for the blog burned so much money of the early 8x and 9x youths - including mine.
Remembering those days brings back memories of the innocent childhood of riding bicycles under the blazing sun to school. In class, everyone competed to see whose Yahoo nickname was cooler. If the name wasn't cool enough, you'd make a new one!
Besides writing down names, hobbies, and personal thoughts in the friendship books, people also added their Yahoo nicknames and Yahoo 360 Blog links with a message: 'When you graduate, remember to read my blog to know how I'm doing!'...
On the internet back then, there was a saying, 'Time flies like a dog running across the field.' Thinking back, it's funny but also true. Looking back, Yahoo and Yahoo 360 Blog are now closed, and the friends who used blogs back then are all grown up now!
2012 marked significant milestones in the history of Facebook. In Vietnam, the user base of this social network also grew rapidly. With the boom of smartphones, accessing Facebook became much simpler and more convenient. During this period, any young person who owned a Samsung Galaxy Y smartphone with a touchscreen was considered a true trendsetter. Of course, using Facebook on this phone was extremely easy and convenient. Additionally, many people still logged into Facebook through the Opera Mini browser on their phones.
Facebook users logging in via the Opera Mini browser (left image) and the legendary touchscreen phone with the youth in the early 2010s (right image).
Zalo debuted on 8/8/2012, four months after the official release, and it gradually gained attention from many users. Over the next two years, this messaging and calling app attracted a large user base thanks to its reliable performance on Vietnam's network infrastructure.
Zalo remains a popular OTT messaging and calling app to this day.
Zingme was still widely used during this time, but mostly by gamers. The founder made various changes to optimize the interface and features to better serve gamers. However, in terms of other features like photo sharing and messaging, Zingme lagged far behind Facebook and Instagram.
Friend supermarkets, Cloud gardens, Happy farms, Dragon Islands, Rong Market... were the hottest games on Zingme that the 9x generation probably finds unforgettable.
'For the mid-90s generation like me, Zingme is a sky full of memories. It's where I met and made many friends from all over. Some conversations were incredibly fun and enjoyable, but then we lost touch. Now, reminiscing about Zingme, I still remember the Cloud Garden game, where someone always waters the plants, fights pests, and gives pots to me' - Tran Hien (Ha Dong) shared.
Forums remained vibrant until 2014. They were places to make friends, learn useful knowledge, and... gossip. Many people found their loved ones through these platforms, leading to marriages.
Ha Anh (Thai Nguyen), who had experiences with numerous forums about film and music, shared: 'The youth of the late 90s and early 2000s all experienced dates, chats for hours thanks to any forum. We became closer even though our geographical distances were far apart. The virtual world, but the emotions, the memories are real, making us smile when we think about them, even though those friends are no longer by our side'.
During this time, Yahoo and Ola were declining. Despite Ola's new version, it struggled to compete with newer social networks. Meanwhile, Yahoo continued to suffer from data breaches, causing significant damage.
Yahoo once reigned as the communication king for the youth. But the buzzing sounds accompanied by chat windows ceased to appear since July 17, 2018. Throughout nearly 20 years with the 80s and early 90s generation, Yahoo held countless memories. However, with the advancement of technology, this application gradually got replaced by (several) more convenient, simple, and fun apps.
Alongside Yahoo, Forums also served as a gathering place for many members in a specific field. However, many lively forums turned into deserted islands, and some shared the fate of quietly shutting down, just like Yahoo.
Vn-zoom was 'abandoned' around 2015 despite being a golden forum for tech enthusiasts. Yeuamnhac, Yeudienanh also shared the fate of 'fading into obscurity' during the 2015-2018 period, even quietly closing without fanfare.
N.N - a late 80s individual from Bac Giang, now working in Saigon reminisced about his memories: 'The song you're listening to is played from a floppy disk: chaos dot in ocean dot print photo. Wishing you a pleasant music listening experience. Back then, we'd spend 3k/h on the internet just to visit this site and listen to music.
Then I met someone through the friend-making thread in the forum, and we even exchanged Yahoo IDs. Back then, it was kind of shy not to say it out loud, but everyone was just eagerly waiting for the other to be online to jump into that chaotic Buzz and chat, sharing nonsense but having so much fun. But now people have two little kids, thinking back, it's just nostalgia, a bit of regret, and bitterness. If I'm more courageous to say, the geographical distance can now be erased, and people have their own kids to hold.'
Facebook, Instagram during this period were considered the main communication channels for young people. According to statistics, the number of Facebook users in Vietnam in 2018 surged to the 7th position with 58 million users, a 5% increase in the first quarter and a 16% increase compared to 2017. No longer the 'exclusive' domain of the youth, Facebook is increasingly attracting older participants.
Zalo announced hitting 80 million users in August 2018. Based on Vinaresearch's survey results, Zalo's brand awareness ranks second (94.3%), on par with Youtube and only behind Facebook. On average, out of every 100 people, about 87 have Zalo accounts. Instagram - the photo-sharing social network has about 5-8 million users, with 60% being female.
During the 2019 - 2020 period, there were quite a few Vietnamese social networks developed by Vietnamese people. Among them, Lotus - a content-based social network operated and developed by VCCorp Joint Stock Company stands out. This social network has many interesting features such as storytelling with images, formats designed for professional content creators...
Speaking at the launch event of the Lotus social network on September 16, 2019, Mr. Nguyen The Tan, CEO of VCCorp, said: 'Lotus adopts a content-centric strategy, so we create professionally designed content formats for content creators. And users are the deities. Content creators serve the deities!'. Just a few months after its launch, the purely Vietnamese social network Lotus has reached 1 million regular users.
The Lotus social network has stood side by side in the fight against Covid-19 from the very beginning. The Corona Virus Shield fanpage has been a bright spot in propaganda efforts, providing timely and accurate information about the Covid-19 situation in Vietnam and around the world.
In 2019, Vietnam had 45.3 million Facebook users, and by 2020, this number had increased to over 69 million users by the end of June 2020. Facebook is not only a social network for people to connect and keep in touch but also a place to spread news very quickly, although the accuracy is... not yet verified.
Zalo still maintains its popularity, with a relatively large user base. However, both social networks also have their downsides. For Facebook, the spread of fake news is no longer surprising, users need to be truly vigilant to filter information, avoid facilitating the spread of fake, misleading information. As for Zalo, many security features like hiding messages, hiding comments provide an ideal environment for... extramarital affairs.
Moreover, due to Covid-19, many applications serving for online learning and meetings have also become popular such as Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, Zoom Meeting, Skype...
10 years have passed, the 'gossip party' of 2020 is very different from 2010. But whether then or now, the virtual world still brings real emotions, real values to humanity...
