I, like many people, belong to multiple social networks: tribe, friendster, linkedin, myspace, orkut, etc. They each have their own user demographics, their own focus, their own competitive advantages and their own weaknesses. Friendster was one of the first big ones on the scene and it was a ton of fun in the beginning. However, the walled garden they created forced everyone and everything to occur within the friendster.com domain. Tribe is great in that they don't have a walled garden and allow you to incorporate rss feeds into your profile -- I think I have 4 or 5 different rss feeds that build my profile. However, does tribe want to be a craiglist killer, a citysearch/yelp killer, a social network, a glorified user group -- what??? LinkedIn focuses on the business networks...it is amazing to see work associates pop up. Myspace...well, I haven't completely figured that out yet. I can say that the ability to create your own page IS HORRIFYING. I usually close my browser in absolute DISGUST at the design many people put up. It is truly one of the ugliest, succesful sites out there. Orkut? One of the worst attempts in the history of attempts. Why the hell does Google keep that going?
However, a point lost with all of these companies is that my network, whether it be friends, family or work associates, is my personal IP. I have worked long and hard, whether in business meetings, social gatherings, years late night at the club, throwing parties -- hell, with the women I have dated/engaged/slept with -- building this network of people that I call associates, friends, and family. That is mine. I own it. I have entrusted you to manage that in the meta world for me, but it is mine.
Why do I not have access to it? Why do I have to manage that information separately in each service? Why can't we all play along and I can manage once. I am tired of managing the approval process in each site. If I approve in one, can't it recognize in another? Can't I control my trust network? After all, I am defining people that I trust and the level of trust that I provide to them.
We can even stretch this farther to IM networks. I am tired of walled gardens. It is my IP who my contacts are for each IM platform I am on, not Google's, Yahoo's or Microsoft's. I am getting very tired of having to manage all of the different services: which contact uses which service, which platforms interoperate, which contacts I have entered into each service. This is MY IP, not your's.
Oh, yeah. We are about to go through this process AGAIN with VOIP networks. Great. I have skype. I am looking at others. And now I have to have separate profiles, separate contacts and separate trust networks YET AGAIN. Glad we are learning about the needs, wants and desire of the user!
If we are moving to a web that is more audience driven, more consumer focused, more about solving my social as well as business needs, let me clue you in: I don't need to manage another profile. I don't need to add friends into upcoming, yelp, odeo, yahoo 360 or any of the other 5 dozen social app sites that are popping up. Let's adopt a standard. Give me control. Allow me to use each social service for the aspect they are best at. Shine from your offering, not your control of my IP.
Please.
