August 16, 2003
Friendster Fun
This week has brought up quite a lot of discussion, spurred on by a deletion of 'fake accounts' on Friendster (business-model driven, no doubt):
- SF Weekly: Attack of the Smartasses
"Mr. Asshole proves why" was one headline, another appropriate statement would be "Battle erupts, not friendly at all". For a service which portends to be a place to meet people, Jonathan is literally telling people to get lost.
Pretty fucking absurd, if you invented a wildly successful product would then wage war on your users and try and destroy everything they like about your product?
The weirdest bit is that friendster is still growing rapidly despite a management that is completely hostile to the actual users. And on the flip, Tribe.net, listens closely and talks to its users, but is pretty much still born so far. None of the dynamism of friendster there, despite the fact that they welcome it. Could it be that friendsters antagonistic relationship to its users actually helps drive some of its success. Action is more fun if its illegal after all...
- Gawker: Friendster Exiles
- Friendsterious, Part 4: Spittin Craze - the 'Fakester Manifesto'
- Salon: Faking out Friendster
- Friendster Power Games
- Social networks got game - insight on social networks and gaming the system
Danah Boyd, a Berkeley researcher studying digital social networks, writes Connected Selves, a blog focused on discussion on social network tools. Definitely put it on your blogroll if you're intertested in this topic area.
Posted by leonard at August 16, 2003 01:46 PM
