Here’s some interesting point-of-view from tech commentator Om Malik on whether we should look at Social Networks as features that should be part of an overall site experience rather than a stand alone system. Om says:
It is time to rethink the whole notion of social networking, and start thinking of it as a feature for other online activities. Already, we see companies like Affinity Circles and Social Platform turning the “social network” into a commodity, by offering turnkey solutions. That’s just the start. It is time to start thinking beyond the web-page paradigm, and think of social networking as part of a larger “experience,” one that starts to blend the best of online and offline worlds.
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Right on, this is a conversation that needs to happen. There are very few situations in your life where networking for networking’s sake makes sense. Outside of those times, it’s important to focus on what other value you deliver and see whether there are opportunities to build social networking functionality on top of it.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:39 pm