Disqus - Latest Comments for mattwolf

Re: Exemplification

Matt Wolf — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:51:55 -0000

This was an entertaining read, achieving that elusive yet rewarding balance of both personal and topical content.

I must ask, though, why are you convinced they'll never regain their past optimism?

Re: Search monetization as a model for social media monetization

Matt Wolf — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:46:07 -0000

Overture and Google figured out how to monetize search but has anyone figured out how to monetize email? Is Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, or Gmail profitable? Some social media sites are more similar to free web mail than they are to traditional search engines.

Monetizing (to the point of profitability) Facebook will likely be entirely different than, say, Twitter. While Google search has a pretty obvious quality advantage over all of its competitors I've ever dealt with, the basic user experience is the same across the industry. When I'm using a different search engine, I think "this is like Google, except it sucks." In fact, I've found myself thinking the same thing when *advertising* on different search engines, too.

"Social media sites," on the other hand, are much more varied in terms of features, user perception of quality, and experience of use. This is because "socializing" (the purpose of social media sites) is more varied and dynamic than "research" (the purpose of search engines).

Research basically has two types: casual/personal (what is the number for the pizza place I like? what is the population of nyc?) and serious/professional/academic (this is the kind of research you do when your reputation is on the line). Socializing, on the other hand, takes on many more forms than research does. I behave differently sitting down to dinner with friends than I do on the phone negotiating with a vendor. Unsurprisingly, then, I behave differently on LinkedIn than I do on Facebook, and while I'm still trying to figure out how to behave on Twitter, I act differently there than anywhere else.

Because social media sites are so different from each other, they'll likely follow vastly different paths to profitability or extinction. Monetizing search is simple (or so it seems now that somebody else figured it out): your users are basically asking questions, and your advertisers are basically suggesting answers, and whenever a user clicks on an answer, you (the search engine) get paid.

On social media sites your users are basically... I guess that's a bit more complex and it entirely depends upon which particular social media site we're talking about.

Re: Restating

Matt Wolf — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:27:59 -0000

I didn't perceive your original entry on this topic the way some people evidently did, for what it's worth. Your forecast of an upcoming trend toward charging users rings true to me, as does your contention that some startups will follow that trend to their detriment. Alas, many people follow trends at their own peril in all facets of life, and in all economic conditions. On the whole, though, I would consider more startups charging users to be a "correction."

Re: 85+ Tools & Resources for Freelancers and Web Workers

Matt Wolf — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:10:19 -0000

This is an excellent compilation. I bookmarked it, and I plan to check it out more thoroughly down the road.

Does anybody know of solutions for getting accounting work done aside from Quickbooks/Freshbooks/etc. or hiring an actual accountant in person?

Re: Matt Wolf - Ignore Everybody

Matt Wolf — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:40:36 -0000

It looks like the author truncated this, which is a shame. Although it is understandable given the upcoming release of a book version.