DISQUS

Mathew's comments: Google wants one ring to bind them

  • Mukund Mohan · 2 years ago
    Mathew
    Honest question. Not trying to be either a) funny or b) sarcastic.

    do you ever sleep? Every time there's something new on techmeme I see your site up there #1.

    On top of your day job, how do you keep up?
  • Mathew · 2 years ago
    Here's the secret, Mukund -- I've actually taught myself how to blog in my sleep :-)
  • Kent Brewster · 2 years ago
    "One Ring?" What does that make Google, then? Sauron?
  • Joe Duck · 2 years ago
    Google Social - best title award goes to you Matt!

    As exciting as this sounds, it remains to be seen how Myspace and Facebook will react, especially with Facebook sitting on truckloads of new cash and a sky high valuation.

    More important is how users fit in. Developers like to think users follow them, but I think developers follow users.

    My gut reaction says that Google will have trouble unless Facebook or Myspace jumps on board, and I predict they will not.
  • Mathew · 2 years ago
    I think you're right, Joe -- can Google's attempt really work if it doesn't include two of the world's largest social networks?
  • Chad · 2 years ago
    The only way MS or FB will ever get on board is if OpenSocial starts helping other networks gain market share. If it does, MS and FB will get on it to stop them from eating away.

    The question is, will this provide something the user needs? Or just make it easier for widget developers? I can see it going either way.
  • Alexander van Elsas · 2 years ago
    Hi Mathew, just wanted to let you know I used your ring metaphor and added a small warning to it in a post yesterday. Thought you nailed it really well, nice one!
  • Joe Duck · 2 years ago
    Marc Andreessen's excellent post has convinced me that the most likely shake out will be to have Myspace, Facebook, and then a Google centric world with all the social networking leftovers. However this last group has the potential to grow very big very fast as users are going to like the idea of carrying around socializing seamlessly as they travel the web (if in fact Open Social does a good job facilitating that - which remains to be seen). Frankly, I'd just like it if every site just put up a twitter box and a MyBlogLog recent readers widget with a real photo, and then everybody had an MBL and Twitter profile. I think that would take care of 90% of my social networking needs.