4 ms·

"...the merger turned out to be a disaster: AOL's revenue stream was reduced to a trickle as net users ventured out onto the Web directly." So facebook will fa

by ibejoeb 16y ago

"...the merger turned out to be a disaster: AOL's revenue stream was reduced to a trickle as net users ventured out onto the Web directly." So facebook will fail when people venture out and socialize in real life? Seriously, though, I get the point generally, but I don't think it's quite the same. AOL and MySpace were assimilated and stifled by their parents' ways of doing things, whereas Facebook will likely continue to do things its own way. This is a company that is able to convince its investors that it knows best, and I don't think things will change with the Goldman investment. I don't know if Facebook will be on top in 10 years, but I don't think this is the beginning of the end.

sskates 16y ago
I agree. The author's main points seem to be that: 1. Facebook has similarities to AOL, and AOL's bubble burst 2. There was a bubble in the late '90s therefore there must be a bubble now 3. Goldman is investing in Facebook, Goldman invested in other bubbles, therefore the investment must be bad 4. Social is a fad Nothing on why Facebook specifically is doing a bad job and why someone else is positioned to upset them. Not much evidence at all if you ask me. You could write the article with 90% of the content the same and replace "Facebook" with "Google" or "Apple" or "Microsoft"
- patrickk 16y ago
  Authors main point: "Yet social media is itself as temporary as any social gathering, nightclub or party. It's the people that matter, not the venue." All the other stuff in the article is an attempt to back this argument up (AOL/TW merger stuff, Goldman deal a symptom of cashing-out mentality, MySpace collapse as a precedent.)
code_duck 16y ago
Facebook has done great capitalizing on the growth of the web in general, just like AOL. And similarly, Facebook will not be as popular when these new users find out there are other websites out there.

by ibejoeb 16y ago

sskates 16y ago

I agree. The author's main points seem to be that: 1. Facebook has similarities to AOL, and AOL's bubble burst 2. There was a bubble in the late '90s therefore there must be a bubble now 3. Goldman is investing in Facebook, Goldman invested in other bubbles, therefore the investment must be bad 4. Social is a fad Nothing on why Facebook specifically is doing a bad job and why someone else is positioned to upset them. Not much evidence at all if you ask me. You could write the article with 90% of the content the same and replace "Facebook" with "Google" or "Apple" or "Microsoft"

patrickk 16y ago
Authors main point: "Yet social media is itself as temporary as any social gathering, nightclub or party. It's the people that matter, not the venue." All the other stuff in the article is an attempt to back this argument up (AOL/TW merger stuff, Goldman deal a symptom of cashing-out mentality, MySpace collapse as a precedent.)

code_duck 16y ago

Facebook has done great capitalizing on the growth of the web in general, just like AOL. And similarly, Facebook will not be as popular when these new users find out there are other websites out there.