Comments on: Can’t We Just Get Along?

By: Victor

Victor — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:41:45 +0000

What I see on the software side is interesting. There are many network-specific clients, Twitter clients being some of the best examples. However, I see some developers embracing the fact that many people are using many networks and developing software to address that. For the Mac, there is Socialite [it used to be called EventBox]. I haven't investigated other platforms yet but there are probably similar products. There is, however, a browser-based client called HootSuite that serves the same purpose. That's software-based convergence of the fact that there is social divergence. I hope it's an approach that shares my philosophy rather than being based on necessity. And maybe it does still follow your continuum with those two in temporary alignment. Only 't' will tell.

By: Archimedes Trajano

Archimedes Trajano — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 06:27:48 +0000

I agree with the notion that these social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, etc) for different clusters of people. Personally, I only use Facebook and Friendsters for some people in the Philippines though I am not as active in that group.

Personally I am in many social clusters. Each blog I comment on is technically its own social cluster with their own set of “friends” I talk to.

StumbleUpon, UrbanSpoon, Flixster are also their own social networks that I contribute to as well. These types of networks are more specialized to a method of entry that is natural.

The “assimilation” is just a matter of competition, of course everyone wants to be the central hub. In my opinion, Facebook is the one doing things right by opening up its APIs so that you can use your Facebook account to login rather than maintaining another account, but leverage the “friends” knowledge of your account to provide an instant social network for external apps (this is what was used by Flixster and Urbanspoon).

Other social networks are still playing catch up. Google, Yahoo, Microsoft live.com provide the IDs, but not many people I know *IN CANADA* developed their social networks as much in those networks as much as Facebook.

In my view the coalescing of friends into a single social network will be when t->infinity, it will eventually end there, but it will take a long time.

By: Aaron Kim

Aaron Kim — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 05:59:42 +0000

Liked the analogy with cell divisions and your comment of the weirdness of witnessing distinct groups of friends colliding. Kind of Crisis on Infinite Earths

I expect Social Networks to expand, then shrink and fragment, and keep reinventing themselves. I wonder what they will look like 10, 20 years from now.

By: Bernie

Bernie — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:30:57 +0000

Great post, Victor.

I haven’t thought of this in terms of circle of friends, but there is a close linkage there. There are people I only interact with on Facebook, others I interact with on Twitter, and others on blip.fm. Like all circles of friends, there is some overlap (I may have people I work with whom I am friends with for example, even though I have a circle of coworkers and a circle (or circles) of friends.

I think Facebook is trying to be more than that. I think it is trying to be everything to everyone. I think that’s a mistake. There are going to be more and more ways to socialize on the web. The winners will be those that allow and accept and foster that coexistence.