OSNews writing about social networks? Yes, it happens, and today is one of those days. We all know Facebook is king here, with a massive userbase and a seemingly unbreakable hold over the market, with Twitter covering the more public side of social networking. Google does some stuff in a fringe somewhere with something called Google+ which tries to combine Facebook and Twitter, but it's effectively a ghost town with a confusing interface. So, if you're Microsoft, what are you going to do? Well, build your own social network, of course!
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Member since:
2005-09-27
And I bet you, that it will be able to interact with facebook.
And it didn't take to much for MS to pull the plug.
http://imagebin.org/184256
Edited 2011-11-16 00:28 UTC
Member since:2009-06-20
For real ?
*checks http://www.socl.com/ *
For real.
This is so… Weird. Totally unprofessional and plain weird.
"Honest."
Edited 2011-11-16 00:53 UTC
Member since:2005-08-09
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2006-01-04
.. but as long as it isn't G+ is my kind of ghost town. All the famous tech people I know are on G+ and they actually respond.
Sure very few of my RL friends are on G+ and doing anything but I mostly want to follow a few people and for me G+ is way better than facebook for that. So if I had to decide I would probably dump facebook.
If I had a wish I would force everyone to use something standard and distributed with strong encrytion (more like Diaspora)
Yeah and socl will fail even more than ping. 100%
Member since:
2009-06-20
Member since:2005-11-13
Hell yeah. The fact that Google+ didn't have a lot of the useless crap out of the box that Facebook does kept most of the mouth breathers off G+. Where my Facebook feed is mostly filled with 'if you know anybody who has ever died of cancer/been sodomized by a wooden cooking spoon, post this as your status!', my G+ streams have none of that shit. And neither am I constantly bombarded by app/game requests on G+ either.
As for Microsoft, perhaps we need to add them to the 'death watch' list, along with RIM, even if it'll be a much slower death.
Edited 2011-11-16 01:12 UTC
Member since:2006-01-08
Member since:2005-11-13
I did say it would be a SLOW death, didn't I?
With tablets getting more powerful, and devices like the Asus Transformer giving users the ability to add keyboard docks, and sporting video out capabilities to plug into monitors and televisions, it's only inevitable that tablets are going to start eating into desktop/laptop marketshares, assuming that hasn't happened already. And if the past is any indicator, MS will just try and do whatever Apple and Google are doing, which is why they're attempting to transform Windows 8 into a tablet OS.
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Member since:2005-07-06
And, not to rain on elitist parades of r_a_trip and like-minded (hm, w8, that's exactly what I want to do ;p ) or anything, but - ultimately we very much care about this aspect of our life.
After all, our existence will be randomized in a very short amount of time 
(few decades ...well, with finishing touches maybe centuries or millennia away if you try hard; still, a blink of an eye, in geological time scales)
Edited 2011-11-24 00:02 UTC
Member since:
2006-07-12
I thougt (after the reports) that westerners were leaving facebook and most other social networking sites in droves now and the only growth is in asia and africa, maybe i am wrong.And twitter and alike is mostly for people telling others when they had bowel movements, what they have eaten and uther useless stuff.. oh wait that is most of them.
Member since:
2011-02-10
Google does some stuff in a fringe somewhere with something called Google+ which tries to combine Facebook and Twitter, but it's effectively a ghost town with a confusing interface.
Thom, it seems you've joined G+ without or few people in your circles, therefore your stream is a ghost town. I agree, but what you are trying to picture is generally, G+ is a ghost town which is FALSE and FALSE and WRONG and every bit of it is WRONG!
I posted something here for Google+ beginners, and as you Thom must be a G+ beginner( me an early adapter), we must have the responsibility to explore G+ more, especially to the journalist people like you.
It is intellectual dishonesty to post an article and report something as absolute truth, it is very obvious you did not do your homework as a journalist. By the way, I read most of your articles here and somehow favorable most of your points, but now you ruined it severely. I will now think twice and search more for proof and at the same time will doubt the veracity or validity of your articles from now on.
http://www.osnews.com/comments/25326?view=nested&perpage=10&order=o...
Here is my post:
Hey,
google+ is a ghost town because:
1. You have no people or few people in your circles
2. You want real friends in your circles instead of connections
3. As a result of #1, your stream is almost empty, thus it is a ghost town
4. You don't read things like: "Google+ for Beginners"
Here are sample that may help you connect people(not friends in real life) that shared the same interests as you have:
To address # 1 and # 21
http://www.gplustuts.com/beginners-guide/
http://blog.kissmetrics.com/beginners-guide-to-google-plus/
Find valuable connections:
http://www.gplustuts.com/find-valuable-connections-on-google-plus/
http://www.gplustuts.com/find-valuable-connections-on-google-plus/
Startup guide:
https://plus.google.com/photos/114831291174925522786/albums/56324637.......
Getting more out from your circles:
http://mashable.com/2011/07/26/google-plus-circles/
You see, there are so many ways you can populate your Google+ stream with quality contents rather than irrelevant game invites, friends' posts at your facebook stream.
I am talking about quality posts based on your *INTERESTS* your interests could be:
1. Photography(any type)
2. Graphic design
3. Web design
4. Programming
5. Religion
6. Technology
7. Science
8. etc.
numbers are growing.
So there.
Edited 2011-11-16 01:46 UTC
Member since:2005-08-09
Member since:2009-05-19
At LinkedIn the public interaction is minimal and is stuffed into this feature called groups. And groups in LinkedIn are half-a**ed anyway.
Frankly, LinkedIn will not be anything like an active social network Facebook or even G+ are. It's just your CV with connections to people that could recommend you to someone.
Member since:2005-07-06
Alan, all I see is self deluding ways of adding filler to a G+ account, so that the glaring lack of people you <u>really do care about</u> on G+ isn't so noticeable. Following people who do stuff that interest you, isn't building up meaningful circles with your friends.
I won't deny that using G+ as a way to get more direct insight in what strangers do in your field of interest can be interesting. That said, it is not the primary function of a social network.
So yeah, in terms of people one has met in meat space, G+ is a ghost town. At least the neighborhood where I haunt G+ is. That might be a Dutch phenomenon though. I'm up North in The Netherlands.
Member since:2011-02-10
Isn't meaningful is just your subjective interpretation of how Social Network will function. Friends are located on Facebook, sure, because it has the momentum, you can't mass migrate people from Facebook, because most of our family and friends are there and in that respect, Facebook is the current leader.
Trying to say "not a primary function" again is your preference, and not for everyone. If we let wikipedia define us of what is social networking:
You see, friendship and kinship are not the primary functions of a Social Network, so Thom's description of G+ as a ghost town is a blunder.
It is you who only said that *friends* is the primary function of a social network which is false.
I agree, at least in your experience, given with the factors(which you did not address)I posted above, but to say G+ is generally a ghost town is totally wrong.
Member since:
2008-04-15
Google plus is probably one of the best things they've done since Gmail. Coupled with Android and all their other products it makes you want to use other Google products.
Since Google+ I have:
-Used Gmail as my central point for mail & contacts.
-Started using Google Calendar and Google Tasks
-Spent more time on Youtube.
-Stopped using Facebook.
-Used every Google Service I already used about 50% more. (reader, docs, picasa, etc)
Google has done the reverse of Facebook. Applications are creating the userbase while Facebook is trying to add shiny things to keep the existing users around now that there's nothing to do there.
If MS want's a slice of the pie they should easily be able to shoehorn themselves in through xbox, office and Windows.
They have millions of products, users and services around the world which when (intelligently) used together could create a cohesive network that will at least create some kind of community.
Member since:2011-02-10
Since Google+ I have:
-Used Gmail as my central point for mail & contacts.
-Started using Google Calendar and Google Tasks
-Spent more time on Youtube.
-Stopped using Facebook.
-Used every Google Service I already used about 50% more. (reader, docs, picasa, etc)
Google has done the reverse of Facebook. Applications are creating the userbase while Facebook is trying to add shiny things to keep the existing users around now that there's nothing to do there.
If MS want's a slice of the pie they should easily be able to shoehorn themselves in through xbox, office and Windows.
They have millions of products, users and services around the world which when (intelligently) used together could create a cohesive network that will at least create some kind of community.
I agree. In addition, Microsoft employed very smart people, but it doesn't mean that being smart can be also an expert in Social Networking trends nowadays. They should build a better one, even if better than Google+ it is very difficult for them.
I read an article from Google nearly a couple of years ago discussing the weaknesses of social networks such as the big bucket of friends in Facebook. So they created Google+ by watching the mistakes of Facebook. Facebook for sure is the current leader in term of numbers, but I've found Google+ more interesting that it even ruined my work time because I've spent most of my time there, because of the quality of unique contents = mainly photography, technology discussion. The best thing to do first is to add people in your circles and engage in any discussion you like.
At Facebook, my interest only is to know the status of my family(for almost all of them are there) and 100% of my friends are there.
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2010-09-23
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2007-03-26
G+ has a confusing interface? Have you never used Facebook? THAT is a usability nightmare!! Compared to Facebook, G+ is a dream to use.
Member since:
2007-09-22
Actually, I believe Twitter started as: http://twttr.com/
So to me it sounds more like retro than current trend ;-)
Member since:
2011-11-16
Member since:
2008-07-10
Member since:
2008-05-03
Finally, a use for the money-losing Bing!
According to Slashdot, Bing has lost MS $5.5 billion since 2009.
Maybe attaching it to Socl will save it! Or maybe it will sink them both.
MS is incredibly late to the social networking party. Their only hope is to buy their way in... but as you point out, it could be very expensive... and even Google hasn't been able to crack that nut yet.
Goodbye Microsoft!
Member since:2009-08-18
http://www.tmrepository.com/trademarks/microsoftisdying/
Microsoft might not be the force they once was ... much like IBM was in the 90s ... but people predicted IBM's death too ...
Oh wait IBM are still here.
Edited 2011-11-16 19:33 UTC
Member since:2007-01-13
MS is incredibly late to the social networking party.
A very smart strategy. Learn from others mistakes.
Toyota (1937) and Volkswagen (1937) were 30 years late entering the car business. They are now doing extremely well. Over 99% of the car companies founded before 1910 no longer exist.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Obviously you have never worked at a Microsoft-only shop. There are tons of them out there. They use .NET for coding, IIS is the only web-server, the only database is SQL Server, the reporting engine is Microsoft Reporting Services. The CMS is Sharepoint. Microsoft Office for all documents, etc, etc, etc.
No matter what the technology, the answer to every tech question is "Is there a Microsoft product?” If so, they buy it. Otherwise, they will consider another product until another one comes out from Microsoft. However, throughout this process, they will deny they are limited to Microsoft products. Instead, they will say they are just going with the best product- it just so happens that it is always Microsoft.
An additional benefit to this mono-culture is that often the products will integrate well, though not always.
It is very depressing, but WAY too common.
Member since:
2005-07-06
I disagree with your analysis about Microsoft chasing the markets. I think its a little more intelligent than that. For reliantly little investment they have the bones in place for established markets,keeping an eye out for a gap.
Facebook has made a fair few gaffs recently, if a gap opens up, they have a product in place, to build on, to exploit it. The alternative would be to buy one in and rehash it.
This is how MS has always worked and it has served it well! Take for example the Office, XBOX or Windows itself, they were going into markets that were 'flooded' with a Clearly dominant player. With patience and money they have now come to be in the top 3 of and/or dominated for a decade.
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2005-11-26
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2006-02-22