Social Network Overload?
I was anti social network for a very long time. I finally gave into Facebook a few months ago after realizing they have their stuff together and it looks like they’re going to be around for a long time. They seem to have a plan for connecting people and information and not just throwing up a bunch of crap (ie MySpace, which I think will fade, but it will obviously take awhile to fade as it is HUGE). Today, as I was looking around for something to write about on this site, I kept coming across social networking news. First on Tech Crunch this morning we find out that both Google and Yahoo are working on creating their own social networks. Now it looks like Facebook is quickly approaching an IPO, proving that in fact, they are not for sale. Then Ning secures a HUGE round of funding (Raised $44 million at a $170 million pre-money valuation). Next, SideStep acquires TripUp, which is a travel social network…and to close off the evening Bay Partners launches a Facebook Apps Fund.
I’m not just trying to link to a bunch of sites, but that is five stories on social networks, four of which seem to be very significant (TripUp doesn’t seem like a major move). How are all of these social networks going to function? I think Facebook is great, but there is no way that I will get onto MySpace or any other social network unless it reaches a very large critical mass of my friends or colleagues. Ning, which provides a very easy to use tool for creating your own mini social networks is a great tool (I’ve used it and love it), but how much can a bunch of social networks of only a few hundred people be worth? $214M? I have a hard time believing that they really can bring in that much revenue on what they currently have (although with $44M I’m sure there will be some changes coming down the pipe). Yahoo, I don’t think they’ll be able to provide anything to draw a large group of new users and they’re current users only use them for email, finance, and fantasy sports.
Google could potentially launch a very appealing social network for businesses. By tying together, gmail, gchat, spreadsheets, docs and their new powerpoint killer, it seems they could provide an open network for conducting business across offices or even companies. Ping someone in the network through your hosted email in gmail and setup a live conference demo through gchat and the powerpoint killer program. It sounds very appealing to me and I hope they go down this road. I think it’s the only play left for social networks, because really, how many places do people like to write their favorite songs and activities.
Can all of these companies be worth this much money and become sustainable products? Competition is great, but I think it will come down to Facebook, MySpace, Ning, and if Google goes after the business crowd with their integrated online applications they could take alot of customers away from Facebook and LinkedIn. It will be a fun next 18 months.
[Sorry if I got carried away, but that was 4 big stories on the same subject in the same day]
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