The IM comparison is a good point. Adium, Meebo and other clients have great mass-market value. The niche point is also sharp. The more specific the boxes of data in a network are, the more relevant they are to the end-user.
My problem right now is that FriendFeed is nothing more than a grand pipe. It really holds no content, instead it creates a window to view content elsewhere. There are problems with this. One of the big ones is the feedback loop that emerges with heavy users (I twitt, which goes to friendfeed and tumblr, where it goes back to friend feed. same with delicious...) The second problem is that FF relies on data from outside sources: if delicious or FB turns off the flow what can FF do?
I guess my frustration lies in people vesting in FF's potential. It hasn't done anything terribly novel (though useful) yet. I'm waiting for the 'wow' moment. Something anyone can experience without having lots of early-adopter, data-exhausting friends to see the immediate benefit. Until FF can pull that off, I'm afraid our enthusiasm is misplaced.
My problem right now is that FriendFeed is nothing more than a grand pipe. It really holds no content, instead it creates a window to view content elsewhere. There are problems with this. One of the big ones is the feedback loop that emerges with heavy users (I twitt, which goes to friendfeed and tumblr, where it goes back to friend feed. same with delicious...) The second problem is that FF relies on data from outside sources: if delicious or FB turns off the flow what can FF do?
I guess my frustration lies in people vesting in FF's potential. It hasn't done anything terribly novel (though useful) yet. I'm waiting for the 'wow' moment. Something anyone can experience without having lots of early-adopter, data-exhausting friends to see the immediate benefit. Until FF can pull that off, I'm afraid our enthusiasm is misplaced.