--FILE--un netizen chinois navigue sur le site web de réseautage social en ligne site renren.com dans Yichang, Chine centrale la province du Hubei, 18 avril 2011.
--FILE--A Chinese netizen browses the website of online social networking site renren.com in Yichang, central Chinas Hubei province, 18 April 2011. When Renren, Chinas answer to Facebook, went public in the US a year ahead of the US social network, investors gave it a valuation multiple of more than double what Facebook then traded at in private markets. Since that 2011 listing, however, Renrens New York-traded shares have lost four-fifths of their value and taught investors a painful lesson about how fast Chinas internet sector can change. Renrens slide hit a recent milestone when it shuttered its once-blockbuster game Happy Farm. At its peak, it counted tens of millions of users and inspired FarmVille, a hit for US game developer Zynga, but user interest had gradually waned. The Peoples Daily, the governments official paper, posted a mournful message commemorating the game, but took to its microblog run by Sina ¨C one of Renrens competitors ¨C to do so. Renrens downfall came because it was slow to adapt to the rise of smartphones and mobile internet use, analysts say.
