when monkeys need money they use visa
Ahh the pulse of the web, it keeps throbbing. Has everyone tuned in? Everyone got their PSP in hand? Are all about the now of zen and this and that? This morning i read a cnet blurb on how social networking is dying.
Just by the mere mention of friendster in the article feels like its dated. Who is really using friendster any more? Is friendster the barometer of success in the social networking biz? Isnt that like saying cola sales are down due to TAB drinkers moving on? Social networks move like wildfire on the net are you really attempting to apply some sort of basis or weight to the first real popular network that has been dwarfed like 100 times over by now? Strange. Easy statement to make yet the article misses the point I think. Firstly cause i havent had TAB in ages.
Social netwoking creators already know about the five horsemen presented in the article. Yahoo 360’s efforts will be minimal and will no doubt just serve as a method to push ads and maintain presence. Why do people always assume that $$$ is the only money generatoring factor to consider. Just by maintaining presence you make money. You are in the game, that alone keeps your brand in the eyes of the user. How is that not generating cash just as much as yer supposed 2 million dollar superbowl ad that lasts a mere 30seconds. Same thing. Except this time you have a chance to cultivate your user far more than your 30sec ad will do.
Still this notion that social networks can only surive via some direct cash intake i think is classically flawed. Thats that typical approach. You could apply these same five horsemen mentalities to online gaming.
1. people need stuff to do, yes i’d agree, thats nuff said, most social networks have something to do even if they are simply to do whatever you want to do.
2. gaming / social networking takes time, yep, that is correct, basically people have time to blow, we all do really, what bothers us is when we have hrs to blow and we blow them on places where we didnt intend to blow them, we all waste time, its how we waste it that matters, cause in the end, we will waste time, we’ll read, we’ll watch tv. game, explore a social network, collect stamps, we’ll waste it
3. traffic alone.. not enough? its your benchmark, where are the people, you cant just move people, i agree, yet thats like saying you cant just surf, umm sure i can, thats choice, so much falls into my bag of choice, i choose or not choose, thats it, simple, clean cut.
4. strangers, is there power in people networked in person or otherwise via the web? theres power in the unexpected, the questionable connection is what draws me, and social networks arent as tied to my real idenity as email is, email is at my front door, a social network is a door i choose to go to, i can keep my distance better, yet i can also lose my interest better in the sense nothing really connected…
5.the web is social networking just disguised in a nondirect way, social networks will continue to evolve, they will continue, its not a make or break outlet either, its not a fad as much as say hybrid cars are, they are coming you cant avoid them, they are steps in the evolution of the web, what is yer determination of success? sell it, flickr had it dead on, on their own they may or may not of been able to last, but used as branding tool for a larger force, say that of yahoo, flickr extends the life of yahoo, cause its not viewed as a source of income but as a form of marketing,
Well thats my take on it.