The Declining Quality of Social Networking

I’ve received some emails lately on why I haven’t been blogging much lately. A part of it is because I am short on time with my new job and side projects. But yesterday I unfortunately also realized that I have been finding it harder and harder to find topics and new social networks to write about. Why? Because it seems as if the social networking space is declining in quality new sites, in exchange for high numbers.

The boom of social networking has cluttered the space with hundreds, if not thousands, of poor quality social networks. The thinking is very similar to the internet bubble….”All I have to do is make a website to make money” vs. “All I have to do is include social networking (i.e. Myspace similar features) to make money.”

You don’t have to look far to see my point. Walmart’s bust in Social Networking. Just announced today YoungFeds.org (a social network by the government). A little more impressive, but still not doing much, HotSoup.com. TiredandTested.com.

Some of these sites may see a moderate level of growth in the near future, but in the long term I find it hard to believe these sites will survive without any innovative and unique features.

For those of you that are thinking of starting a new social network, here is a little equation:

Niche Subject/Market  +  Myspace Features  =  Long Term Failure

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that once people realize that they can’t replicate Myspace, Facebook’s, or Bebo’s success that the focus will change back to innovation in the social networking space. I see this most likely happening in the Mobile Social Networking Space.

What other social networks have you seen that you think are horrible?

[tags]Social Networking, Social Network, Facebook, Myspace, Innovation, Brian Balfour[/tags]