Designing Interactive Products

Is this a law of the universe or a problem waiting for a solution?

"Yet social media is itself as temporary as any social gathering, nightclub or party. It's the people that matter, not the venue. So when the trend leaders of one social niche or another decide the place everyone is socializing has lost its luster or, more important, its exclusivity, they move on to the next one, taking their followers with them."
- Douglas Rushkoff, CNN Opinion

Rushkoff's point, that all social network sites seem to be doomed to eventually fail, is an interesting one and a difficult point to argue. These sites tend to follow the same path as any pop culture fad: the cool kids discover it, the masses follow, the media creates a ton of hype, the cool kids leave for the next thing and then the hype fades in favor of the next trend.

So here's my question: will this happen forever or will some smart social networking company eventually figure out how to avoid the fad cycle?

One answer would be that the internet itself is the only social network that will remain in some form forever. The gathering may move from site to site, but people will always want to gather online somewhere.

And it seems like there's nothing wrong with that.

Thanks to @sippey for the initial link.

Google, Groupon and local newspapers

When I read about Google offering $6 billion for Groupon a few weeks ago, I was a little confused. Where's the value? Not in the software. Google could knock out an app like that in no time. Not in the brand. The company's only been around for 18 months and hardly has any recognition with the general public.

After talking with some coworkers and reading a bit online, it seems like the value is in Groupon's knowledge of local markets and their team of salespeople with relationships with small businesses.

Here what the New York Times' DealBook column had to say:

Google had set its sights on the hyperlocal market for neighborhood mom-and-pop shops, where it sees a largely untapped group of business customers and advertisers. Groupon, which offers discount coupons, could provide Google with specific insight into consumer spending habits as well as provide access to a large fleet of salespeople with intimate knowledge of local markets.

Are you telling me that "a large fleet of salespeople with intimate knowledge of local markets" is a major factor in company being valued at $6 billion? In the early part of my career I worked for several small newspapers and I can tell you that most of them have exactly this asset. Every local newspaper publisher in the country has to be slapping their forehead at this point.

I'm not suggesting that Google go out and start buying up the Clovis Independent and the Foster City Islander. However, if they want sales people with knowledge of local markets they might want to think about recruiting them from local papers like this.