Data from Alexa showed that Kaixin001.com's page view spiraled into a drop after a sharp increase in February and moved around a 0.2-level at present.
However, statistics provided by Guo Wei, vice president for the Beijing-based company, indicate that the number of Kaixin001.com users has been on a stable increase. Mr. Guo declined to make a comment on the Alexa data, stressing that the company sees 25 million users log in every day.
Nevertheless, the once-acclaimed SNS does appear to face some problems at the moment - the numerous users that were once excited by the sparkling online games on Kaixin001.com now show little interest in the products.
"It is reasonable that users start to leave an SNS provided that they are tired of playing the games, " pointed out a partner of IT5G.com, an information technology (IT) market consulting firm.
Renren.com, a cross-town peer of Kaixin001.com, finds its traffic move into a negative territory at the end of this February.
SNS like Kaixin001.com have made their name known by popularizing some entertainment applications and social networking games, products that are not strong in keeping user loyalty, said Li Zhi, an analyst at Analysys International, echoing the IT5G.com partner.
The danger of a bubble-like expansion posted by domestic SNS is enlarging, forcing the players to jump into other segments such as e-commerce to ride out the business contraction, said the market observer, noting that social networking games, once a widely-adopted means to court for users, is turning less and less attractive to users at the moment.
An April report from iResearch Consulting Group showed that the number of new registered SNS users in the country stood far below the peak in 2009, though it maintained a growth.
A continuous fall in user loyalty indicates that the SNS operators have not worked out sustainable products to lure investors, said Cao Di, an analyst at iResearch, noting that the raft of similar web games and SNS games can only get temporary distraction from users.
To find a way out, Kaixin001.com is brewing an open platform, said people close to the company, noting that included in the plan are API, an open channel for institutional users, together with a self-service advertising channel.
(USD 1 = CNY 6.83)
