I see your point, and agree, well said, but not all social networks/web apps should aspire to be the next Facebook, some of them should try to do something different, not necessarily for the masses.
I totally agree. Community has totally been lost in many of these "social" apps. The best social network I interact with is a motorcycle forum still running vBulletin.
I think the huge challenge in these sites is that they start off simple and targeted (like Facebook), then grow, and find they don't have a sane way to deal with that growth.
Of course, trying to solve it before you need to is just a pointless waste of time, because odds are very against you ever needing to solve it.
I agree with you that some of the best so-called social networks are the old-style web forums. Having run for a very long time I see more of a 'community' built around it that any social network and really isn't that what it is all about - being a part of a community?
SoftwareMaven|15 years ago
I think the huge challenge in these sites is that they start off simple and targeted (like Facebook), then grow, and find they don't have a sane way to deal with that growth.
Of course, trying to solve it before you need to is just a pointless waste of time, because odds are very against you ever needing to solve it.
StevenHodson|15 years ago