Disqus - Latest Comments for Neil

Re: » Your Facebook app is a disaster, and I was right. | StartupNorth

Neil — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:53:22 -0000

Although I'm a proponent of the long-term possibilities of Facebook Applications, I love this article. I think a lot needs to be demystified before any real progress can be made.

Specifically, you mentioned the social graph. Once Facebook cleans up the application directory (which it seems like they're going to with the next generation of tabbed user profiles), we're going to see far fewer popular applications. I imagine this will lead to a few applications becoming as indispensable as say, Photos or Video. Then we'll see a golden application and hopefully something other than "How many vampires kissed my top friends".

Re: Four Things Not To Do When Pitching Sexy Widget

Neil — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:00:09 -0000

How about explaining to you seven reasons why Live Messenger sucks?

Shameless.
http://www.facebookinsight.com/2008/04/19/dear-...

Re: View Your Twitter Reach With Quotably

Neil — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:16:18 -0000

That's great stuff. I find friends that dive in and have no idea what's going on in their friends' profiles. Off the top of my head, this could be used to collect statistics on conversation-generators on the web. Right now we have blogs, but through Twitter we get a little closer to the people, and see who really generates a forum in their everyday, off-the-cuff observations.

Re: FriendFeed Launches API, Can They Take on Facebook?

Neil — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:16:26 -0000

This is definitely something to watch as it grows. If FriendFeed introduces a usable friend-list and messaging service, then it will be able to attract a large market. If they then theoretically tie in with Orkut or somehow get a photo application running, it will be an open version of Facebook. Instead of applications, people will just create websites based on the FriendFeed API.

Still a long way to go, but FF is moving at such a rapid pace that everyone should keep an eye open for them.

Re: Social Media Brings Out the Truth in You

Neil — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:00:02 -0000

Intense, such a great truth. Our culture very much promotes a 'good' way of being, which is incredible in itself.

That said, don't be surprised if we start to see social networks dedicated to being 'bad'. Ever heard of AshleyMadison.com? Maybe not quite the same, but definitely along those lines.

Re: Social Gaming Goes on a Tear

Neil — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 12:17:56 -0000

Does that SGN Traffic chart include the traffic from affiliate games like Jetman?

Re: Mark Pincus - CEO, Zynga

Neil — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 23:47:43 -0000

Great interview, great visionary. I had the pleasure of having a thirty minute chat with Mark a few weeks ago, and was really enamored with his "open fields" view of game design. "Infinite space" was another term he threw around. Very cool!

Re: Social Times Updates

Neil — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:59:35 -0000

Great idea. Good luck with it, we'll do what we can up North.

Re: Will Blogging and Social Media Be Mainstream?

Neil — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:08:45 -0000

Voracious appetite for researched and intellectual information = not mainstream.

Re: Your Facebook app is a disaster, and I was right.

Neil — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:53:22 -0000

Re: My Interview With Mark Zuckerberg

Neil — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:24:15 -0000

Great work Nick. I like the hard-hitting, and I'm sure your knowledge went through. Virality, messaging and the future of the social web. Thanks for another source of great insight into the future of this market.

Re: CBS Sports Granted 100 Invites Per Day

Neil — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:30:37 -0000

What did anybody expect? The company is still trying to secure funding, and although I'll probably get whacked on the head for this, I think that having a few Applications that truly demonstrate the community potential will be good for all Application Developers in the long run.

I mean, invites alone aren't enough to seal the deal. If you want to take on the big boys at CBS, come up with a better idea, a better marketing scheme, and face the music: the social web isn't going to be fair for a while.

Maybe until Google's "do no evil" mantra comes into play, and OpenSocial/FriendFeed rules the web.

Re: Is Facebook Doomed?

Neil — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 13:26:18 -0000

I think that they're gearing up to 'relaunch' their whole service. Rolling out the new profiles may seem like a small technical change to us, but from the perspective of the users (and combined with the right marketing), it will be an opportunity for Facebook to reinvent itself. Combine that with the great buzz they still have, and the 60,000,000 and growing user-base, and I would say calling them 'doomed' is just unfounded sensationalism.

Re: Facebook Needs a Faster Newsfeed

Neil — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:28:18 -0000

You sure have changed your tone about the possible benefits of FriendFeed! lol. In seriousness though, the next iteration of profiles allows user to 'approve' what appears in their feed, so I imagine that the ones that ARE approved will have a higher 'value' in the algorithm, and we'll start seeing more entries about what people WANT to show off to their friends.

Which is good.

Re: Facebook Walks Fine Line With App Developers

Neil — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:10:21 -0000

I am not sure if the profile revamp is a deliberate play by Facebook to attack their own developers, as much as a response to the cry of users. Profiles have grown out of control, and I think that their first priority is preventing the "MySpace"-ing of Facebook.

As for IM, it's just too sweet a service to hold back on. It's a fine line, but it's the same fine line as Walmart busting into a small community. The mom & pops / app devs need to become creative to compete.

Re: Facebook and CareerBuilder Partner Up

Neil — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:38:24 -0000

If they had a special application devoted to people uploading their resume, CareerBuilder would have access to some of the user's personal information (well, as much as the Application API releases). Perhaps they plan on using that information to give recruiters a little 'extra info' at a price.

Re: A New Facebook Ad Network For Everybody

Neil — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:01:19 -0000

This is genius... I was disappointed in you, jealous of you, and amazed at the same time.

Re: Facebook Carpooler Video

Neil — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 22:30:38 -0000

This really gives a face to what the public sees as a series of bothersome invitations and tech-speak.

This open environment gives us a voice!

Re: Do You Have a Big Brain?

Neil — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:56:57 -0000

William, I just got that same message myself! 13,647,15cm³.

Re: Facebook viral marketing: When and why do apps “jump the shark?”

Neil — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:02:14 -0000

Great post.

Clearly you've mapped the short lifecycle of most Facebook applications at this point. This kind of theory would hold for any sort of engaging application online. The anomalies do exist though, like Top Friends or Compare People, where constant innovation keeps users coming back for more. I imagine this is what we'll see after Facebook shakes down existing applications with the new Profile setup.