Comments on: Can Social Networking be a real business?

By: 3d Chat

3d Chat — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:33:23 +0000

Great blog, I’ve searched the internet for new and exciting social networking sites, and have found Casuals Online to be one of the most interesting sites around, they offer 3d chats. http://www.CasualsOnline.com.au

By: Gareth Knight

Gareth Knight — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:17:39 +0000

Yup, that is the silver bullet – the challengs is not the BD or the affiliate models, but in the creation of the captive target audience big enough to make it worthwhike…

By: matt

matt — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:33:21 +0000

Hi Lebogang (and Gareth)

Advertising is not the silver bullet – A rather shiny bullet might be the creating of a captive target audience who others are happy to pay to have access to. Simple affiliate revenue models start to appear when users see offers that extend the positive experience yuo are giving them(as I’m sure Kindo has with Moo et al).
The best summary of this argument I’ve seen is Chris Anderson’s talk here:
http://www.netvision.de/uk/dispatching/?event_id=5bb1b5e95afabb2e62d2b148ded47706&portal_id=369401748e8249f142a700d8098a3473

By: lebogang nkoane

lebogang nkoane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:23:03 +0000

dayam! my English sucks! LOL!

*sorry for that!

By: lebogang nkoane

lebogang nkoane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:19:04 +0000

You are right — i think it’s a need a mathematical function to map it to — I argue better through that.

Let me mull over it for a bit — and I’ll come back, ja — you when you have the argument but, can’t find the words — i’ve been like that for quite some time ‘about social networking sites.

By: Gareth Knight

Gareth Knight — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:12:44 +0000

Maybe it needs some more illustration?

By: lebogang nkoane

lebogang nkoane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:58:45 +0000

I see what you mean — but, I’m not arguing against that.

(hmm, my analogy is not good, huh?)

By: Gareth Knight

Gareth Knight — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:44:11 +0000

I’m not sure I agree with you, because no-one charges us online to “speak”, and if they do, we go somewhere else where it is free. Would people still use FB if it was not free? I think not for at least 60 to 70%, or more, of users.

So, my thinking is that if the user is expecting a free experience, then there has to be something else that can offered, that is not free… see what I mean?

By: lebogang nkoane

lebogang nkoane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:38:10 +0000

*so for the grammatical errors, english not my first language,

By: lebogang nkoane

lebogang nkoane — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:36:16 +0000

See, right there is the problem (assuming my research is correct).

Social networking is not something new — humans have been doing it for years, thousands of years — it’s not about making profit out of ‘social networking’ directly, but generating a profit indirectly.

An analogy if you will: a cellular company is not making money out of each every word spoken, but makes out out the fact that people speak.

and I think we need to rethink the model of ‘making money out ‘socialising’, but make money because people socialise.

*I hope I makes sense. (my research is still yet to be formalised and concluded).