Where Google and Youtube are frequented just as often as when you found out your mom was on Myspace. ;)
While everyone in the U.S. seems to believe that Google is taking over the world, a particular Korean site has expanded my internet paradigm significantly. I'm sure it has a lot to do with my environment, but my immediate instinct to Google something has been replaced with an "I'm just gonna ask Naver".
Yup, Naver.
Naver is Korea's #1 search portal and has successfully managed to create a community of users who frequent the site to log in to their e-mail, update their blogs, manage online cafes/communities, look for videos/music, and ask questions to get really good answers from fellow netizens. Don't know how to make an alfredo sauce? There will be an answer to your question and usually pictures to illustrate step-by-step instructions from a friendly stranger in the Jishik-In or "Knowledge-In" section.
I think the key word in describing Naver would be "community", something that Google hasn't been very successful in implementing most likely because of its broad range of users. Naver, on the other hand, has a very specific demographic: Koreans who have an innate sense of trust for one another. To me Naver has become the friend I could ask for directions, a good cafe, and fun activities for my students.
I'm a double-searcher now. It's always Google and Naver. How about you?
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13 comments:
hmmm...i find the site a little overwhelming...and is it exclusive to korean literates?
Somewhat... but if you search in English you will get a bunch of English results. For example... I couldn't find Warner Korea's website on Google but when I searched on Naver it was the first result.
hey sk, my sole blogger "follower"! hahah
how is korea? are you studying abroad, or just spending some time in the motherland? hope it's going swell! And naver sounds awesome. google is starting to fail me in so many ways, maybe i'll convert.
whoa interesting! i thought there was only room for one search powerhouse-cum-e-mail/messenger in the world! haha i GOTTA get out of america..
love your blog
yeah, i've been naver-ing for the past four years and i love it! much better than yahoo korea and daum.
Haha I tried opening Naver @ work and a whole bunch of squares came up :(
It sounds like a great portal though - will def check it out later.
hi roomie. is everything okay? referring to new post you disabled comments on! miss youuuu.
sounds interesting, but everything is google for me.. naver sounds really good too though, so issit for koreans only?
Naver fore Korean searches, and google for any other :P thing is google never picks up good sites if I searched in Korean... I hear only 10% of Korean population use Google? They were complaining that business is slow there :P
hahahha naver is such a funny name :D google ftw!!! i only use yahoo.com.hk when i'm in hong kong and i need to check movie times. other than that, google is the one ;)
hm, usually i type in google.ca ;
if only because i want to support my canada :)
just reread your quick about me.. you are WELL TRAVELED lady! are you chicago city or suburban?? my family's from evanston, and my cousins are at northwestern, so i have a strange allegiance to the city!
me toooo! i'm a huge fan of naver :D naver has EVERYTHING that even google might not have
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