

Next Facebook Killer - posssiblyit

What could it be? any ideas?<p>This is the technology industry which means that you can't stand around for a long period of time without expecting or preparing for another entry. There are other startups coming in the scene addressing this issue of "privacy" and "open source" etc... With time Google and Microsoft will follow as well as VCs looking for potential candidates... MySpace could have re-designed their interface and added relevant features to stay competitive rather than switching their focus which was their main down turn. Ex. Microsoft buys yahoo to compete with google... no success.. Microsoft creates bing (sort of like a copy of google) and takes a good share of the market.<p>Facebook "basically" gave users what myspace and friendster had + some more in a very nice and easy to use format (even though both companies had largely taken over the market based on our expectations at the time - p.s. expectations change). Is that what a startup can do in this area to potentially "viral" and gain AT THE LEAST 100,000 members? Ex. StudioVZ, Chinese facebook copy etc...<p>Expectations of a market take over can now be defined as 500 mill members and in 2004 and on myspace was considered at the top of its game etc... you guys probably see what im getting at. But 2004 and now is a huge difference with access to computers, technology and cell phones being extremely convenient so is 500 mill a REALLY BIG NUMBER or Can it get even BIGGER in the future?
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imx
There won't be any "facebook killer", instead the entire social netowrking
buzz will gradually cool off over time. Facebook will remain the center piece
"hub" of social networking, while audience interest will shift towards niche
sites and apps, and most of them will be heavily integrated with / rely upon
fb's api...

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willheim
Facebook will remain as long as people support it. In the short history of the
net we have seen sites come and go with little more reason than they simply
became passe. AOL had all the makings of a facebook (every ad on TV/poster had
AOL Keyword:"...") but focused on their dial-up margins. MySpace had it but
failed at modern design. Geocities, TheGlobe, etc, etc, had potential to do it
before that. So many sites have come and gone in a social space. And now,
where FB has picked up the slack they still can't replace the numerous forums
out there where people really congregate to interact with "not friends".

Eventually, I believe, FB will be passe. And whatever out there is quenching
people's social interaction thirst will thrive. Yes, it will be bigger because
there will be even more people hooked up to the net.

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Wadsworth
I imagine that it won't be an all inclusive social networking site- it will
instead, be a collection of sites that focus on single features (work,
education, social groups, hobbies and so on). People are going to just grow
out of this everything model- especially those that have been using it since
high school (even grade school). There is something to be said about staying
in touch with people from your past, but realistically how much does one have
in common with an acquaintance from 15 years ago? I would venture to say that
even the most active facebook users reduce their usage within the first few
months and this trend continues as one transitions out of being a student.

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posssiblyit
you may be right but there are others who say that everything is moving
towards a more universal location.

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luckyfish
Let's assume facebook stays the basic social networking layer but most of the
time people spend, and most of the data they give will be inside facebook
apps. not so good for facebook.

Zynga/farmville is a great example of such process.

I'm not sure that one application will replace facebook, probably few/many
games and virtual worlds.

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posssiblyit
impressions are still in favor of facebook..

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mapster
there would have to be an app that -with a single click- would migrate an
account over to a new site. Certainly FB could block this. Otherwise ppl are
too lazy for the most part.

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posssiblyit
you mean just export facebook account to this new social network? facebook
would eventually block it...

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jchonphoenix
I don't think looking for the next facebook.

Doesn't seem like facebook is going to be "killed" anytime soon.

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JoshKalkbrenner
The next 'FB' will come from India

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ved
Thanks for your trust on India...your prediction might come true...

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JoshKalkbrenner
It's the market potential, rather than the country of origin, that I make and
support my statement on. Though India is home to many intelligent and
dedicated developers, I believe the next 'FB' killer will be developed in the
States, but not for the States [market].

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posssiblyit
Orkut is quite strong in India... but theres plenty of market still to capture
there so I Wouldn't be surprised if a couple of networks tried to capture that
market...

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profitbaron
I think that, the "Facebook Killer" will be something entirely different to
what Facebook is today. The reason is based on a few things but look at all
these "Google Killers" - Mahalo, Cuil, Blekko, DuckDuckGo etc with the
exception of Bing none are really seen as a threat to Google. Cuil has
deadpooled, Mahalo has changed business model and we're only really seeing
what Blekko can do which goes to prove the idea, that for something to beat
Google/Facebook its going to have to be something new. Such as the evolution,
of Facebook becoming a threat to Google so much so they are focusing more on
social aspects with +1 etc.

However, going back to your question and looking at it with regards to "open
source" issue you raised, its important to note that at Facebook they are very
open to the idea of opensource having, released many things into the open
source community themselves - <http://developers.facebook.com/opensource/> and
Facebook even provide a public mirror - <http://mirror.facebook.net/> of many
open source services. This shows that, an "open source" service won't kill
Facebook - look at Dispora (the "open source" Facebook) that hasn't worked
which goes to show that, if something is going to "kill Facebook" then it
won't look like Facebook.

For instance, Facebook doesn't look like Google but as I highlighted earlier
Google are noting Facebook is becoming someone considered a competitor -
especially if they move into search - which is why they are focusing on +1
etc.

Additionally, there's actually an interesting article about the Facebook
Killer not looking like Facebook posted by Mashable's Pete Cashmore on CNN
here:
[http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-26/tech/cashmore.facebook.ki...](http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-26/tech/cashmore.facebook.killer_1_facebook-
social-network-digg?_s=PM:TECH) which is also worth a read.

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HerraBRE
I think it's silly to make claims about Diaspora having failed, when the
project is still in its infancy. These things take time.

The Diaspora effect isn't just about Diaspora - it's about all the other
projects like it and the fact that they are trying to standardize how these
sites can communicate. If they succeed, then social networking becomes a bit
like e-mail, and Facebook becomes a bit like AOL.

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posssiblyit
Disapora picked up media attention to early in the game... That kind of
coverage may not happen again or be entertained by people who were once
engaged... Concept can remain but surfacing it to the public will be
difficult.

