[Web4lib] The end of MySpace, SecondLife, and Twitter

[Atanu Garai]

There is a marked distinction between what happened earlier through 
personal web-pages and now, through the social networking websites - 
blogs, wikis, podcasting sites so on. The distinction here perhaps goes 
beyond the technology maturity of sharing and collaboration on the web, 
a product is only successful when it is enjoyed by many and the seamless 
connection across platforms is established so well. If you look at the 
commercial success of those websites, it is only few. But in the last 
few years, millions of such activities have grown without any 
significant commercial strings attached to it. In a sense, you must look 
at people's willingness to share and consume this new information and it 
is going to be endless, even in near future, until a completely new 
technology overturns and captures this phenomenon (semantic web?). For 
an average person, it looks like mere consumerism and entertainment to 
be socially networked through web, but more and more things are 
happening online. People are trusting friends reviews before buying 
products and services. The cost of doing this is almost nothing, except 
the internet connection charges. So from business point of view, there 
is nothing to loose for the customers, but to gain much more. Doesn't 
make sense?

Atanu Garai
New Delhi

David Rothman wrote:
> The author of the article may be right that these particular brands 
> may not
> survive.  So what?
>
> The point he's missing is that the kinds of services and
> functionalities they offer (and their descendent services/functionalities
> that will come) aren't going anywhere.
>
> For Pete's sake, all endeavors are doomed eventually.  That's no 
> reason not
> to start them or enjoy using them while they're around and
> useful/fun/interesting.  How else is progress made?
>
> -David
>
> ----
> http://davidrothman.net
>
> On 6/20/07, Dan Lester <dan at riverofdata.com> wrote:
>>
>> and maybe Ning as well?
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2145408,00.asp
>>
>>
>>
>> I'm not quite as positive as the author is, but he's looking at it from
>> what I consider to be an appropriate view.
>>
>>
>>
>> dan, old enough to remember when "Push Technology" was the next big
>> thing.  It has been long enough I've forgotten the name of the 
>> desktop app
>> that everybody had to have....
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> It's not what you take when you leave this world behind you;
>>
>> it's what you leave behind you when you go.
>>
>>
>>
>> dan at riverofdata.com
>>
>> Dan Lester, Boise, Idaho, USA
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>>
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