Train Thoughts

If you want an easy way to think about the difference between social networks, here is how.  First, social networks are about three things. Following, sharing, and connecting.

• Facebook is the social network for friends and family
• LinkedIn is the social network for business contacts
• Twitter is the social network for people you don’t know, but want to follow you when you share a 140 characters.

Now to MySpace and Twitter.  MySpace didn’t become irrelevant.  It’s like saying MSN and AOL aren’t relevant.  Perhaps they aren’t relevant to you, but to millions of people they’re important.  Very important.

Products and companies are always looking to become better.  To not ask how do we become better questions is irresponsible, just as it is to drive without hands.  So what do companies do?  They drive the car and discuss how to become better.  When they believe they have something better, they turn.

Does Twitter have a business?  I don’t know, but think they will.  Has the company publicly put growth over monetization.  Yes.  Does the board of Twitter discuss the strategic direction?  Absolutely - even though I’ve never attended a Twitter board meeting, I’m sure of this.  Are Twitter and MySpace relevant?  Yes.   Most of us can only dream of being so irrelevant.

I read the news about the new Blackberry Gmail plugin and was excited.  I followed the instructions.  Deleted my Gmail account from BIS.  Re-added it.  Installed the plugin.  It works as advertised.  Labels, archiving and one way sync to your Gmail.

It’s the one way sync that is so disappointing.   Everything else works well, but then it falls short.  Just short enough that I switched back to the Google Blackberry app.  If it doesn’t sync both ways, then the Blackberry mail just gets too messy with emails that you already read in your Gmail web app, but are marked as new on the Blackberry.

As soon as two way sync works, I’ll be using it.

Entrepreneurs created tools to make websites so easy and inexpensive to create that just about anyone can do it in a few minutes.  If you think about this from a simple business perspective, the cost is so low to create a site, and distribute it, that the site only needs to make a very small CPM from advertising to support it (cover the cost of running it).  And.  If you have a really large site, that the incremental cost of serving a page is even less, so you can still make a positive gross margin and charge an even lower CPM.

I’ve made this point before.  Technologist have done their job in the web publishing space.  We’ve taken a market (content management/site creation) and totally disrupted it by making it so easy and inexpensive through content managment tools and hosted services.  Now that we are paying less to create sites, we have to expect to make less from advertising to support them, because the competition has already done that.  UGC sites at scale are supporting themselves under a .50 cent CPM.  As a publisher, we have to compete at that price, or we will die over time.

There is still the cost of creating content and managing it.  As these costs get greatly reduced, I think we can expect sites to charge advertisers even less.  Our prediction is CPMs will continue to decrease as a function of supply increasing (time online), and as costs decrease across content management systems, creating content, and managing/programming of content.

In the end, it will be the most efficient publishers that survive.

I have a personal goal to exercise three times per week this year.  So far, I’ve been a little behind schedule, but I’ve recommitted since getting through some digestive issues (gut pain).  I’ve been looking for an exercise plan to build strength, relax a bit, and help my guts.  I was introduced to Bikram Yoga.  Just four classes in now.  I’m nowhere near touching my toes, but my guts have never felt better.

I love the repetition of the class.  Each time you do the same exercises in the same order.  I love the heat.  It reminds me of finishing basketball practice soaked in sweat.  I also like that after I cool down, I feel relaxed.

I’m hoping I can keep fitting in the classes with my work schedule.  Next week, I’m on the road in NYC.  Maybe there is a studio I can drop in during the evening.