Why Facebook is not the future of the web
oreillynet.com
oreillynet.com
It is a series of empty statements:
1. Growth: Yes, it will plateau. So what? The question is revenues, not users.
2. Not for Sale: Every company maintains that illusion with their public persona. An IPO is hugely distracting for everyone involved. You don't burn that bridge until you need to cross it.
3. Respect Users: Why, exactly, does that lead to failure? Microsoft users don't expect respect. Apple users crave flagellation from the great Steve. Facebook doesn't even pretend to "not be evil".
4. Lawsuit: Name a company with >250 people that doesn't have a lawsuit. Money attracts lawyers.
5. Useless: That's what much of the web IS. For much of the world it is a giant distraction.
I use YC to keep stuff like this from wasting my time!
But, the concept of newsfeed of highly personalized notifications, based on established relationships with other entities -- this might be around for a long while. Once liberated from an individual website it should suck a lot less.