I'm Mike (or mcdavis).I make websites and love movies. I get all touchy feely with tumblr here. Be careful.
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Google+ is a platform without personality - no sense of those integral early adopters who define the pathos of the site. Think of how Tumblr evolved, they’re one of the strongest examples out there of early adopters creating a vibrant culture. From a very close-knit circle of mostly tech kids and expanding outwards, one meme at a time. Where else can I shamelessly post Sailor Moon pictures? I never would put them on my Facebook.
Beyond that, I believe Google+ has already failed. I follow several people who worked on the Google+ team (found and followed thanks to this article) and some haven’t posted in days. If even the people who created the product aren’t using it, there’s no hope.
Could Google+ have succeeded under different circumstances? Sure. By not being a Google product. By experiencing organic, natural growth instead of being shoved into our email app. By having passionate founders working on a unique problem instead of a team of employees in a large corporation trying to force a product which encompasses the major features of every other existing social platform. By standing out. I’m saying they should’ve bought social.
—Lauren Leto, on Google+ - Will Google Goggles Work?
This is both commentary on how hard it is for big companies (Google, Apple, etc.) to play in social and an interesting thought in relation to the Facebook + Instagram acquisition. Facebook has the smarts to develop Instagram on their own, but they weren’t likely to achieve the same following and personality Instagram had. With photos at the very core of Facebook, it’s interesting to see they were smart enough to realize this.
The graffiti artist who is about to become a Facebook millionaire
Graffiti artist David Choe took Facebook stock instead of cash for painting the walls of Facebook’s first headquarters and his shares are now expected to be worth about $200 million when Facebook stock trades publicly.
(via: NYTimes.com)
This IPO is about to make a bunch of people (whether techies or not) rich.
You get an automatic autobiography; they get a saleable database of the people, places, and products you love. As you highlight the important photos of your life or add your favorite recipes, Facebook will see what people, products, and services have emotional valence for you. Facebook will know how to hit you with advertisements not just based on your behavior (which they already know) but on the way you make meaning of out of your experiences.
“Mezrich Spins Facebook Potboiler”
Mezrich’s attitude toward the slight fabrications contained within the story of “The Accidental Billionaires” (which is now the basis for the upcoming film The Social Network) is really interesting to me. With little regard for those he’s actually writing about, he changes the facts to fit the plot he wants to follow and intentionally passes it off as reality. And while this isn’t uncommon, his coy nature about the subject draws me in even more.
The piece is a bit old but still worth the read.
