Comments on: Social networks--future portal or fad?

Investors and execs can't decide if MySpace and Facebook are next-generation portals or flash-in-the-pan communities.

[scroundy]

Long lasting social networks

The MySpaces and Facebooks of the Internet have their market - teens and college students. While this is a great market to have, it also poses some problems as the market grows up. As the youngsters get into college, then careers, they have less and less time to spend on the Internet attracting new Internet friends. They move on ? into real life with real relationships.

New sites, recently branded as Family 2.0 (CNET had a whole article on this - http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-6079271.html) go beyond the trendy friendship sites by building networks around what the adult population cares about. As we get older we long for connections with family members and long time friends. The Internet, and Web 2.0 most recently, is great at enabling the sharing of stories, thoughts, interests, photos, movies, baby advice, etc. Sites like Amiglia.com, Minti.com, Cingo.com, Roundbook.com, OurStory.com, etc are heading in this direction.

Profitability comes into play here too. Relying on ad dollars may work if the site has a large enough user base, but families are willing to pay for premium content that allows the sharing of large movie files, storage of photos that grandma can download and print at full quality, family history archiving, etc.

[fakespam]

Fad, like . . .

Reminds me arcades of the late-'70s/early-'80s, Pokemon, anime/
manga merchandise, Toonami in 2000, hippie causes during the
'90s, Woodstock '94, flashy MC Hammer pants, helmet hair, being
"on-line" a decade ago, ringtones, old Napster . . . do I need to go
on? It got its niche audience, now the populous will move on,
again, unto another HonkeyCon (word taken from an issue of MAD
Magazine).

Programmer #A-5 of www.totallyparanoia.com

[phillynets]

Boring or stupid, you choose

MySpace is a fad that will got he way of GeoCities. It costs too much to innovate without a return on investment, and its target audience (teens primarily) are too demanding of "what's new." It's the reason regular businesses that serve the teen demographic are always struggling to "keep up." So much for a "New Economy."

As you get older the crap you post MySpace comes back to haunt you. What this means is that just when the users are getting money of their own to spend (which attracts advertisers) the users drop-off. While checking on a small company I ran across the "owner's" MySpace. It was offensive, obnoxious, and not what I was willing to trust with my company's credit terms. That space, as much as anything else, is why I didn't pursue a business relationship.

Just when they get old enough to have money of their own the MySpace members drop-off. That's bad news for the company and advertisers alike.

[taylorw]

What Would Mr. Barnum Say?

I wouldn't invest a nickel in this space, and I've been developing what we now call social networks for 20+ years. Context is everything. What is the context for MySpace and Facebook? The bonds of dormmates, campus passersby, idle Friday nights, beach saloon transients and general web dorks. Extended adolescence and its bemusement-seeking nature simply evaporates at some point. Along with MySpace logins.

On the other hand...Mr. Barnum is usually proved right.

[riksus123456]

These sites a poppin gup like new flowers

I came across this other site called http://
www.gorillaexchange.com. They too seem to be building a
massive userbase by offering a different angle to those of the
facebooks and myspaces. I wonder which direction all these
entities will go with such engement and rich user bases.