Via Micropersuasion:
The endless dot-com parties are back. So are the countless trade shows/conferences that regurgitate the same “new paradigms” the last 10 events did – with no end in sight. And yes, the ridiculous BS press releases are flying into my Gmail box. This is why I don’t speak at or attend very many Web 2.0 conferences anymore. I don’t have the heart for it. I would be stirring the big pot of Kool-Aid.
The froth is certainly here.
Still – the survivors from the last dot com bust were businesses with a solid reason for existence, delivering a service that is hard to replicate and offering a clear advantage versus old (bricks or web 1.0) businesses.
Amazon, eBay and Google all had that
Xero, Stuff/NZHerald & Trade Me have all that as well.
But the social networking sites – well I see them as pubs and nightclubs.
Like pubs and nightclubs, people gravitate to the latest and coolest site, which is dictated to by their particular group of friends & demographic.
The cool people/super nerds/teenage girls discover the new clubs & sites, and drag the less cool along. However, those less cool drag their even less cool frinds, and pretty soon you are mainstream and beyond.
Then one of two things can happen. The site (or pub) can turn into an institution, or the super cool people simply leave for the next destination.
The signs are there for either path, but the cynic in me (that force is strong in this one) is wondering whether we have about had enough social networking for this decade.
The signs are increasingly there.
Lance Wiggs 