PANTIP　A popular Internet forum among Thai people

Pantip.com is a popular internet forum for Thai people of all ages. A variety of topics on this website attract its numerous users. In particular, people who are interested in on-going trends or current social events can easily get up-to-date information from here. Pantip.com has become one of the most-visited websites in Thailand.

1. The forums are separated into 38 different main topics and categorized with more than 15,000 tags, which means that Pantip attracts a wide range of users.

Listed below are the topics in each discussion area.

The list of discussion corners（http://pantip.com/）

A variety of forum topics expands Pantip’s target users. Despite rapidly changing social trends, this allows people of all age to discuss their interests with others.

A thread about a famous incident in June 2018 “Thai junior soccer team cave rescue”（https://pantip.com/topic/37803852）

In addition, there are special corners for interesting threads; Pantip Now, Pantip Pick, and Pantip Trend. Threads that show a rise in popularity within 10 minutes will appear in Pantip Now. Threads recommended by Pantip staff will appear in Pantip Pick. And the most popular threads over 24 hours will appear in Pantip Trend.

Aiming to create a high-quality society with high-quality contents, Pantip.com will send a present to any user whose thread is selected for the special areas. The present will be sent to a registered address via postal mail.

“Pantip Now” corner（https://pantip.com/#now）

Tags are used to categorize threads into different forum topics. One thread can appear in different areas at the same time, depending on the tags. Threads with randomly added tags have been causing inconvenience to other users. Nevertheless, if an unrelated tag is seen and reported, Pantip staffs will remove it in no time.

2. Vote for your favorite content, make it a “thread recommended by users”！

Point-giving button（https://pantip.com/topic/37108222）

“Recommend Threads by Users” lists（http://pantip.com/forum）

Users who identify themselves by means of a resident card or passport will be able to vote for their favorite post by awarding a point. The threads with the most points will be added to the list of “Recommend Threads by Users” located on the top of each forum. As a result, people can easily view quality-approved threads. In order to prevent point-cheating, users who have not identified themselves can leave comments but cannot vote.

3. Interesting threads can be shared on social networks and quickly spread throughout the internet.

Share buttons（https://pantip.com/topic/37854488）

Threads posted on Pantip.com are easily accessible because they can be shared to Facebook or Twitter by just clicking buttons in the bottom right corner. Moreover, other popular Thai-related Facebook pages often share and make further comments on contents from Pantip.com. As a result, Pantip’s forums are viewed by a large number of people.

 

Pantip.com Official Facebook Page（https://www.facebook.com/pantipdotcom）

In July 2018, the Pantip.com official Facebook page had reached over 2.6 million likes and followers.

4. Comments and feedback by various users. Pantip.com acts as an alternative consulting service for Thai people

“On our first date, she ordered Kaeng Som Kung after I ordered Tom Yum Kong. Should I continue dating her?” A forum asking for an advice on dating.（https://pantip.com/topic/36776315）

Since there are numerous users on Pantip.com, people tend to come for advice and opinions on their personal issues such as love life, family, study, investment, etc.

The graphic above is one of the popular consultation threads. A guy felt uncomfortable when his dating partner ordered a dish with a similar taste and similar ingredients to the dish he already ordered. Concerned about her choice of food, he asked if he is too picky or whether the girl was bad-mannered. Thai people usually share the food they order, so it is considered rude to order a similar dish. Many people responded to this topic. Some agreed that this girl showed a lack of common sense, while some said that people should not be judged too quickly. Opinions are exchanged on Pantip.com.

We have come up with 4 main reasons behind Pantip’s popularity. Apparently, Pantip.com is not only a large and easily accessed internet society; it is so popular that information exchanged here can make an impact on the whole Thai society. Aiming to maintain the website’s high quality, Pantip.com will continue to improve its functions and increase its level of popularity.

Refernces

"Pantip.com Traffic, Demographics and Competitors - Alexa" http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/pantip.co

"Top Sites in Thailand - Alexa" http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/TH

"Pantip - Learn, Share & Fu" http://pantip.com

"10 เว็บยอดฮิตที่คนไทยเปิดบ่อยที่สุด" http://www.aripfan.com/10web/

"Pantip.com - Home | Facebook" https://www.facebook.com/pantipdotcom

"ไปเดทครั้งแรก ผมสั่งต้มยำทะเล /ผญ.สั่งแกงส้มกุ้ง ควรไปต่อดีไหมครับ" https://pantip.com/topic/36776315

"รวมมิตร" http://pantip.com/forum

"รวมโมเม้นท์น่ารักๆ ของนักข่าวต่างประเทศที่มีต่อเมืองไทย ในภารกิจช่วย 13 หมูป่า " https://pantip.com/topic/37854488