It’s heartening to see the internet hype coming a full circle - from the dotcom days (or the bust!) to Web 2.0. There is renewed interest and hype about internet startups. Check out http://www.startupdunia.com/ to get a feeler!
What differentiates the Web 2.0 era from the dot-com days is probably the more conscious congnizance of revenue streams. Or so they say! I hope I do not get sued for libel, but I still fail to see the business model of many of these ’social networking’ sites that are mushrooming. We had an Orkut and a Facebook and a MySpace and then our desi iBibo came and I’m sure a dozen others already exist, and a zillion more will follow! Is there space for so many of them? Maybe I’m a ‘balti’ (iBibo campaign - “Don’t be a balti” - closely means that don’t be dumb) but how are these social networking sites going to differentiate themselves, how will they manage loyalty and most importantly how will they make money?
To my mind, Web 2.0 has become a fancy term and everybody wants a piece of it. Just like the dot-com days. I think they are still not paying as much attention as they should to the revenue model.
Of course there are some exceptions. One such site I came across is CommonFloor. Think of it as a custom Yahoo/Google group for an apartment society. It is a web-based society management software if you will. It provides several features like posting notices, secure member directory, interest groups (could be to create a car pool or find a golf partner or whatever!), classifieds, event management (this one is impressive with its Outlook styled calendards) and more! Good luck to the guys who are promoting this initiative.
on Apr 21st, 2008 at 7:39 pm
CommonFloor looks like a nice idea. I feel kicking myself for not thinking of this idea before. Anyways good going and all the best. I listened to their presentation in BarCamp and I am sure that they are doing it right way.
on Apr 21st, 2008 at 7:57 pm
but why do u need to interact in a virtual means of communication with the neighbours who are there in your same floor or for the point, same building. That simply kills the purpose of being neighbours. Am i sounding a bit harsh over here.
on Apr 21st, 2008 at 11:05 pm
@Andy - I felt kicking myself for not thinking of this idea too! Btw, I don’t even know the guys and seems I’ve done some publicity for them already!
@Prasad - you’re right in a way, but this is a ‘harsh’ reality. I guess this whole rise of ’social networking’ is in a way making us anti-social! I live in an apartment complex myself. Small one at that, just 17 flats, however I must admit that I only know 2 of my neighbours, and that too barely! Something like CommonFloors will be good for anti-socials like me at least! Don’t kill me if they call this anti-social behavior “social networking”