A comparative study of KakaoStory and Facebook: Focusing on use patterns and use motives

Before global SNS services, such as Facebook and Twitter, were introduced in Korea, Cyworld monopolized the Korean SNS market. However, Cyworld was left behind because it maintained a closed system, which no longer satisfied users. KakaoTalk, a popular Korean mobile messaging application has allowed the messenger itself to become a platform for various services including SNS. KakaoStory began as a photo-based SNS service; by integrating with KakaoTalk’s profile pictures, it has become the most popular SNS in Korea. This study focuses on the usage patterns of SNS users to analyze how KakaoStory became one of the most popular SNSs in Korea. In particular, we have examined the differences in usage patterns between KakaoStory and Facebook, and the primary reasons why Korean users select one of these two social networking sites instead of the other. We conducted an exploratory comparison between KakaoStory and Facebook, specifically focusing on the usage patterns and motivations of both sets of users. We also analyzed how the different usage motivations linked to these two social media networks have influenced usage patterns.