Are services such as LinkedIn and Friendster the beginnings of the next tech tsunami or just interesting niche products destined for history's junk heap?
Jeremy Zawodny argues the former:
"...The current search and browse interfaces suck, but it doesn't matter. The real value of this stuff comes from integrating it with services like Amazon.com or Google or your favorite on-line movie tickets site. Like many things on-line, it will move from novelty to utility. ..."
Richard Stokes, though, says such platforms are, at best, fascinating techie trinkets:
"... I have hundreds of contacts, but the value I derive from introducing people far exceeds any advantage I would gain by entering them into a system somewhere. Moreover, the value I derive from my hard-earned network is sacrified for the 'good' of the system. If anyone, or even just my associates can find out everyone who I know and everything I know about them, I am no longer indispensible. What would possess me to give away my personal 'competitive advantage'? ..."
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