The rub is that people keep comparing facebook to Google, without seeming to have any idea how it'll get that far beyond a vague notion of connecting people. The only person I know who doesn't use Google search is my grandma, who doesn't use a computer. In contrast, not even half the people I know my age use facebook, and essentially no one older than me uses it or seems at all likely to ever bother.
Its a platform that allows a kind of lightweight, asynchronous and with easy opt-outs and opt-ins, shared online experience. I think it actually threatens to become the internet for a lot of people.
It's not there yet, though. The login requirement is a barrier. The interface is still pretty complicated and it's not much faster(if it's faster at all) than its competitors. There's still nothing so compelling that people can't break a Facebook habit if they want to.
Facebook has a lot of potential, and of course millions of users count for something, but it's not a Google and really doesn't seem to be headed that way.
Facebook sucks in a lot of ways. I'm not a fan, in fact I'd actually quite enjoy seeing Zuckerberg crushed. There is just very little else online that facilitates shared experience.
Myspace has zero interest or ability to push itself further. Google hasn't really thrown its full weight behind orkut, not least because they have a much better money maker they need to protect. So the next generation facebook killer will probably have to be a startup - which means they have to be significantly better to attract users and reach a critical mass.
Orkut is quite possibly the worst name for a social network that I've heard. I have no idea why it was chosen, or what significance it has, but it's definitely not an advantage. Nobody I know would hear Orkut for the first time and think either "Social Network" or "Google." (In contrast to, say, "gmail," which immediately evokes email and google).
The rub is that people keep comparing facebook to Google, without seeming to have any idea how it'll get that far beyond a vague notion of connecting people. The only person I know who doesn't use Google search is my grandma, who doesn't use a computer. In contrast, not even half the people I know my age use facebook, and essentially no one older than me uses it or seems at all likely to ever bother.
Its a platform that allows a kind of lightweight, asynchronous and with easy opt-outs and opt-ins, shared online experience. I think it actually threatens to become the internet for a lot of people.
It's not there yet, though. The login requirement is a barrier. The interface is still pretty complicated and it's not much faster(if it's faster at all) than its competitors. There's still nothing so compelling that people can't break a Facebook habit if they want to.
Facebook has a lot of potential, and of course millions of users count for something, but it's not a Google and really doesn't seem to be headed that way.