That Social Networking White Elephant
by Jeanne aka JStor on May 30, 2009
Social Networking. How I LOATHE this topic. Every other day some tech journalist is obligated to write how social networking is changes the way things were and how it will effect the world as we know it. The NYT even has a Q&A where they answer the pressing social networking questions including: How to Stop Facebookâs Pop-Up Chat Requests? (Shakes head in disgust.)
In past 7 years we’ve watched the world move from Friendster to Avatars to MySpace to Facebook and now Twitter. Don’t get me wrong, I love my FB and this blog, and I am slowing getting addicted to Twitter (but it freaks me out a bit). I also love commenting on other people’s blogs. Nothing makes me happier when I comment on an NYT article it gets “recommended by the editors.” It connects friends, family, peers, and potentially the entire world. I am also in awe watching how businesses are using this too.
And as we can all surely see the trail of tech/culture articles (yawn) that delve deep into the social ramifications of social networking, the cynics (myself included) sit and ponder:
- How Facebook is even worth $10billiion dollars?
- Even if you don’t believe this number is realistic, how much less could it possibly be?
- And (my favorite question) what are Facebook and Twitter’s business models and how are they going to implement them? (How can you not be dying to know this?)
At the D7, the Twitter guys circled around this giant white elephant but they haven’t revealed their plans. I’ll be honest, I am dying to see what it is and how’s it’s all going to play itself out. Whatever it is, investors still seem willing to take their chances on them (I am beginning to sound like a neo-liberal; save me JM Keynes!).
Cheers on a Friday night,
Jeanne
Speaking of dying: Anyone remember GeoCities? Well it’s (finally) dead. Poor Yahoo! They bought it for $2.87 billion. (Which also reminds of another lovely failed marriage: AOL-Time Warner. Cracks me up that AOL still exists.) I’m morbid tonight, I know. It’s Friday night, and it’s been a tough workweek.
Tags: Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter
Geocities is dead? I remember hosting one of my first websites with them… I am getting so old, at least in cyber years I am Metusaleh.
Ah well… 10bn for Facebook. I remember reading they just picked up some 100+ million dollars from a Russian investor who the CEO (20 something Zuckerberg) said were the perfect investment partners, and he would use to bring Facebook forward…
What exactly is it they are spending all this money on? I mean, where did the MS money go and why do they even need more funding… Don’t get me wrong, if someone said “here. take a couple of hundred million dollars and give us 0.5% of your future profits” I’d be there… but what gives?