Things move fast in the world of generic communities. One of the first communities to market was Friendster - it was in fact the community that inspired me to launch my first communities here in the UK when they were only 3 months olds.

A good friend of mine (the same one who originally mentioned Friendster to me several years ago) has just sent me a link http://www.scribd.com/doc/80907/How-to-Kill-a-Great-Idea. The article describes how the first to market here grew spectacularly and then with a wealth of expertise and funds thrown at it managed to lose its way to subsequent market entrants Facebook and Myspace.

Reflecting on the consumer social networks and why they can fizzle out reminded me of a question we have been asked on occasion when we are looking at building focused networks for businesses. The question is simply, dont they networks have a shelf life and will burn out like Friendster.

My answer to this is several fold:

1) the consumer market for social networks is more of a fickle fashion item than focused business networks targetting particular niches;

2) the generic networks (friendster, myspace, youtube, facebook) are just that ...generic networks which are trying to address the needs of millions of people at the same time - there is space for a few of these, but there cant be space for all of them;

3) Perhaps most importantly, the question we raise is one of focus - what is the niche you want to target, what are their information needs, what problems are they looking to solve. It is far easier to make sure that you are answering questions for a very specific group of people and engage them on topics in which they are interested. 

One thing is for sure, Jonathon Abrams has started something which will continue to evolve and even in the short 4 four years of online social networking, the web has come an enormous distance and we look forward to being a part of it over the next 4 years.

Comments

There are currently 5 comments about this blog.

Caspar Craven, 10 months ago

I agree that we need to be tracking and incorporating all the latest thinking - I think the next iteration will for some time continue to be creating different applications and uses of Blogs and Wikis. The most important part for any business application is it needs to add value to the business - I think exploring all the value creation opportunities has a long way to go yet.

Michael Horne, 10 months ago

Good article - it just shows how different the Nethead social networks are to the type of network a business might need. Consumer-level social networks, like Friendster, are always going to lose out to whoever the new entrants to the market are, particularly in that period between first launch (The 'this so coooool' period) and common use (The 'lazy phase'). This, I suspect, is why Friendster has lost out - they didn't move quickly enough to capitalise on their position. Facebook, on the other hand, does at least have the good sense to use their techie users to expand the platform. My feeling is that online communities need to continue to innovate, whether it's a consumer community or a business community. There is no reason, for example, why the technology involved in launching a business platform can't innovate as well - particularly if it's a technology business' community. I think it's important to bear in mind that Blogs and Wikis aren't going to be the be-all and end-all for long. What's going to happen next, and who is going to find that out?

Michael Horne, 10 months ago

Good article - it just shows how different the Nethead social networks are to the type of network a business might need. Consumer-level social networks, like Friendster, are always going to lose out to whoever the new entrants to the market are, particularly in that period between first launch (The 'this so coooool' period) and common use (The 'lazy phase'). This, I suspect, is why Friendster has lost out - they didn't move quickly enough to capitalise on their position. Facebook, on the other hand, does at least have the good sense to use their techie users to expand the platform. My feeling is that online communities need to continue to innovate, whether it's a consumer community or a business community. There is no reason, for example, why the technology involved in launching a business platform can't innovate as well - particularly if it's a technology business' community. I think it's important to bear in mind that Blogs and Wikis aren't going to be the be-all and end-all for long. What's going to happen next, and who is going to find that out?

Caspar Craven, 10 months ago

In the light of the previous article, I am not sure I want to be first to market neccesarily! The answer is I havent seen or found anyone else doing what we are doing. I have seen companies creating consumer offerings - see the blog on http://www.rewardingdialogue.com/blogs/17-online-communities I would love to know if anyone else has come across companies who has a similar offering for the Business community.

Edward Charvet, 10 months ago

Good piece old man... that'll show those doubting thomas's - by the way are first or third to market with the Niche Business Community thing???

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