Although social networking is the buzzword, yet there are the five reasons why social networking really does not work. There is word on the street that social networking is in deep trouble. Friendster's CEO, Scott Sassa recently walked away in the face of a rapidly diminishing user base. Friendster has also introduced its own Blogging tool as a part of a moneymaking scheme. On the other hand, business-networking site LinkedIn used it is innovativeness by charging for listing jobs. Meanwhile, people have started speculating over the death of the pioneer in its field, Friendster. This is due to the launch of the Yahoo 360 beta. There is a good article in this months issue of Business 2.0 and it talks about the pros and cons of the indie music-networking site called MySpace. As of now, it is the most successful site with more than $20 million earned through ad sales this year. It has a long list of subscribers too. Social Networking - Going Nowhere Social networking is seems to be reeling under the inescapable weight of the dot-com curse. The curse led to a dot-com bust and now online social networking is getting ready to die a premature death. Your ideas may be very cool but it is pronounced dead on arrival without an elaborate business or strategic plan. You are probably wondering that if this is the case then how is a little company like Trillian still going strong? Does that mean that free services cannot be effective business plans? Alternatively, maybe the truth is that social networking is not really worth so much after all. Let us check out the five problems with social networking websites that led to their downfall. 1. Nothing-great here: The visit to most social networking sites is like being invited to a party where you find the coolest kids but there are no drinks, no food, and no entertainment. 2. It is time consuming: Most of these sites require you to update your personal stats, which can be quite time consuming and boring at times. Websites like Friendster can be interesting to a certain point but they are not information rich at all. Moreover, personal blogs definitely win over social networking due to their being more personal and focused. 3. Web Traffic is important but not enough: This is the reality you can never get millions of visitors on your website even if you want it that way. Today even the advertisers have become smarter and sophisticated. They are now looking at rich-content messages. 4. No Strangers Please: Most of these websites are notorious for the fact that if you have become a member, there is a high possibility that you mail box will be bombarded by mails from absolute strangers. 5. The Internet is already there: The only good thing about social networking is that these networks are a valuable information resource. However, the truth is that you would probably find the information required faster on Google. Despite of the problem areas listed above, social networking is a novel concept and you can make good use of it by using proper safeguards. |
