It’s Boom Times For Social Networking 1.0
We’re in the midst of boom times for Social Networking 1.0. And we might think of it in terms of being in the early fall of those boom times, because the shakeout is coming – probably starting within the next 6-12 months – and many start-ups are going to go bye bye.
MySpace will still be MySpace, though perhaps with slightly less market share than it does now. And Facebook will probably continue to gain on the MySpace giant. But for many dozens of start-ups trying to gain a foothold in various niches (sports, moms, music, and so on) the race is on.
Alex Krupp concludes that social networking start-ups are all chasing (their tales) down the same basic avenues: offering tools that help people strengthen existing relationships (Facebook) or to help facilitate networking (MySpace, LinkedIn), and poses the intriguing yet mysterious notion that “there is so much potential in the yet unexplored possibility space.”
Essentially, Social Networking 1.0 means that the current crop of, say, hundreds of social networking sites are all playing with the same basic technology (ajax, javascript, php, etc.), the same basic tools and features (friending, media uploading/sharing, profile customization, etc.), and the same basic premise (express yourself, share stuff, find stuff, connect with new people, stay in touch with current friends/loved ones).
Therefore, those that survive the shakeout will do so because they offer a compelling mix of tools and features and create a community that first draws people (which will increasingly be tied to marketing dollars), and then is welcoming and attractive and inventive enough to keep people around.
I used to hear people say “content is king” a lot in the late ’90s. Perhaps the ’00s version is “community is king.” Communications and entertainment platforms like social networking sites, social news sites (Digg, Netscape), and video sharing sites (YouTube, Viddyou) are all playing in basically the same sandbox. While market leaders such as MySpace and Digg and YouTube all have a leg up simply because they have lots of existing members, they will bleed audience if they don’t continue to work hard to provide a compelling user experience.
If the recent launch of social news site MySpace News is any indication, MySpace and Tom and co. may be asleep at the switch.
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