Friendster Will Shut Down on May 31, 2011

No, Friendster will not shut down on May 31, 2011. Rather, they will upgrade their existing service into a more entertainment-focused one. Obviously the Friendster mania died a couple of years ago and they're not as profitable as they were before. So, to catch a break, they're bettering their social network service and hopefully it will attract new and former users alike. From Friendster:

We are introducing a new and improved Friendster site in the coming weeks. As part of this change, we will remove a number of social networking functions in Friendster. This includes your existing account profile, photos, messages, blogs, and shoutouts. However, your list of friends will be preserved, along with your basic profile information.

We understand that your photos, blogs and other private data may be important to you. An application is available in the "Apps" section of the site, until May 31st 2011, to help you download or export them securely to third party sites, such as Flickr or Multiply. The application is available here.

If you do not wish to keep any of these information, you do not need to do anything. Your Friendster account will not be deleted. Your Friendster Wallet, along with the coins and chips in it, will remain unchanged in the new site as long as you use your existing login details.

For more information on the Exporter app, please visit the Friendster Help page.

Thank you for using Friendster, we look forward taking you to a brand new Friendster experience very soon!

Do note that the letter says that they "will remove a number of social networking functions in Friendster" that "includes your existing account profile, photos, messages, blogs, and shoutouts." So I reckon there's not much social networking you can do in the Friendster social network. No photos, no shoutouts, no nothing. Just more games.

All that aside, you got until May 31, 2011 to save and migrate every photo or important somethings you have on your Friendster account because come June 1, 2011, all those memories would be gone.

Go here and follow the instructions the page says to retrieve or rechannel all your Friendster memories: http://friendster.ehclients.com/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=48

But like Singapore's Nick Khoo said, chances are this announcement would go unheeded, unheard, unnoticed, or ignored and people will be busy at Facebook growing their CityVille crops.

'Till my next installment.