By searching the net for our debate I found two articles which deal with the economic site of now-a-days social networks.
The first one is a rather old one from 2006 (Social networks--future portal or fad?) and it deals with the problematic how to hold costumers using one network and if you really can earn money with it. There are some nice examples given, like AOL Instant messenger in the early years to MySpace. The fact that this article is a bit older is an advantage if you want to evaluate the speculation.
The second article "Youtube contra Facebook" that I found is from 2008 and is published on Handelsblatt.de. However I only could find it in German (It should be available in english as well because handelsblatt gave the source:Jeff Segal breakingviews.com). It compares Facebook and Youtube and there positions to make money with there services. The result was that Youtube has better chances to make money because it has a nearly monopoly on the global market.
(If you don't speak German check out this article --> it is from the same author and dealing with the same problem: http://www.breakingviews.com/2008/06/23/Facebook-MySpace.aspx?e=c0iWFYUCQ2pmwEU)
Some questionscame into my mind while reading both: If only some social networks are profitable, are we ending up with a social network monopoly? And what if none is profitable, will costumers be willing to pay for them or do they just vanish?
http://news.cnet.com/2100-1038_3-6083546.html
http://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/breakingviews/youtube-kontra-facebook;2027580
1 comment:
Underscores the million-dollar questions--which market model will win? And which is sustainable? And how important is first-mover advantage?
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