By Ai Cahyati

Recently, growth of social networking service users and communities in Indonesia is very rapidly. No wonder then a number of telecommunications operators race to criminalize it.

The rapid growth may refer to the networking site Facebook which now has an active user for more than 11 million in Indonesia.

It has increased 13-fold compared to the end of 2008 and that only 800 thousand range.

Beside to Hospitality with friends and relatives, social networks are also often used as a medium to interact with the netter who have common interests. Thus, it forms various communities on the Internet that more and more numbers.

These potentials are then targeted a number of operators.

Telkomsel is the most recent example. This operator try to optimize MyPulau, social networking sites and communities that it has been built since 2007.

"Since initiated in 2007, www.MyPulau.com user has reached one million. Launch is a fourth repair," Adam Achmad (Manager Digital; Interactive Media Telkomsel) said to detikINET recently in Jakarta.

To build more sites ‘one-stop destination’ is, then PT Telkomsel invites Access Mobile Indonesia to develop content that can be enjoyed by customers and community interests.

MyPulau offers features such as the Social Status Integrators, My Interests, and My Buys. Through these features, users can take advantage of its unique profile that integrates with various social networking sites to create their own community of friends, write blogs, and forums dealing in sale and purchase of e-commerce.

Similar features are also offered Telkom through Mojopia . But Adam explains that the site was built Telkomsel will not compete directly with the portal worth U.S. $ 2 million that was built Telkom, the parent company.

On another occasion, Group Head of Brand Marketing Indosat Teguh Prasetya revealed, the action to make social networking sites have also been initiated by Indosat, www.kongkoow.com name. The site is more targeted music and video content.

"Since its launch last year has earned hundreds of millions rupiah for Indosat," he said.

Further development Indosat done is to make the site accessible by mobile users when previously only played in the segment wide-screen (large screen) outside the room.

"Internet users with large screens is only about three million. If we want to develop business should target mobile subscribers," he said further.

Clearly, networking sites are built the third largest telecom operator in Indonesia that aimed to target new customers, especially from the segment community.

"We did not close the opportunity for another operator customers to join in MyPulau. But certainly we will make a special program for Telkomsel customers which will be the envy of other operators customers, "Adam said.

Great competition fighting over customers through social networking communities should be good news for the customers. Because, ultimately, customers also who will enjoy the fruits of competition.