We'll look back at Facebook and think it's cute.
Charlene Li from Forrester is really on top of things. She's watching the convergence and commoditization of social networks happen in the very near future. All the talk of Facebook and MySpace and how they're huge and growing and which one is going to "win" is irrelevant. Like cars, there will be many different companies and types, allowing you to do different things - each will have its own unique aspect. And like cars, where you can move your cellphone / PDA / address book from one to the other, your profile on social networks will be portable.Her blog point to the fact that social networks are starting to be commoditized. It doesn't matter which you pick, they'll all allow sharing of contacts. Its just not that hard now to create a network to keep track of friends. OleOle's position as a social media platform elevates us from that discussion - people are coming to OleOle to share a passion - to discuss a Social Object. Making friends is nice, but it’s the commitment and passion and interest in the sport that brings them together - the same way it does in the real world at stadiums, pubs and in front of the TV. OleOle is a publishing platform - publishing the views and opinions of football fans in the way that they see fit. We've got the environment and infrastructure to do that in an organized way - and enable discussion instead of just pushing information one way.
What's OleOle's position on OpenSocial / Data Availability / OpenID / Data Portability? YES, we will build for these protocols (maybe when they're standardized a BIT more) so users don't need to create a separate profile on our site - they can login with the profiles they've created other places. The purpose of our site is great content, not being the sole location for personal information.
That's something the big social networks like MySpace are starting to grapple with - what unique social objects can they add to differentiate themselves? And what social objects will get people clicking on ads? It's tough because of the complete heterogeneity of the user base - there is no commonality other than people have friends.
Tom Kuhr
Tom has opinions.
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