http://www.line-of-reasoning.com/solutions/the-importance-of-facebook-explained-for-those-who-do-not-get-it-staying-in-contact-with-your-contacts/ line of reasoning Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:58:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 http://www.line-of-reasoning.com/solutions/the-importance-of-facebook-explained-for-those-who-do-not-get-it-staying-in-contact-with-your-contacts/#comment-37 Nicolas Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:08:01 +0000 http://www.line-of-reasoning.com/solutions/the-importance-of-facebook-explained-for-those-who-do-not-get-it-staying-in-contact-with-your-contacts/#comment-37 Very interesting post, thanks! On a lighter tone, I recommend the very entertaining "Facebook Bankruptcy" at http://www.calacanis.com/2007/07/27/facebook-bankruptcy/ , an amusing view on the "social information overload" that makes FaceBook useless not only when you don't know anyone, but also when you get too popular. More seriously, "FB as an application platform" is a fascinating concept, but calling it the "next Google" (as many fans do) seems preposterous, IMHO. The platform architecture in undeniably brilliant, but marketing and strategic positioning are crucial here: FB was done by and for students, and it still shows. Although, in theory, FB could become the platform of choice for any kind of social interaction (through 3d-party widgets), the social networks tend to gather like-minded individuals at one level or another. To become the de-facto standard, FB would need to be so community-neutral that it would probably become less attractive to the thriving communities that made it so popular in the first place... leaving the field open for the next, fresher, sexier, more community-focused, new FaceBook-killer. Notice how nobody talks about MySpace anymore? Very interesting post, thanks!
On a lighter tone, I recommend the very entertaining “Facebook Bankruptcy” at http://www.calacanis.com/2007/07/27/facebook-bankruptcy/ , an amusing view on the “social information overload” that makes FaceBook useless not only when you don’t know anyone, but also when you get too popular.
More seriously, “FB as an application platform” is a fascinating concept, but calling it the “next Google” (as many fans do) seems preposterous, IMHO.
The platform architecture in undeniably brilliant, but marketing and strategic positioning are crucial here: FB was done by and for students, and it still shows. Although, in theory, FB could become the platform of choice for any kind of social interaction (through 3d-party widgets), the social networks tend to gather like-minded individuals at one level or another. To become the de-facto standard, FB would need to be so community-neutral that it would probably become less attractive to the thriving communities that made it so popular in the first place… leaving the field open for the next, fresher, sexier, more community-focused, new FaceBook-killer. Notice how nobody talks about MySpace anymore?

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