Who really makes the News in the Social Networking Space?
". . . It's more of a gadget platform than a social-networking approach. It's a way to add gadgets to pages with a couple of extensions to it."
That quote was from Windows Live VP Chris Jones in reference to OpenSocial.
It appeared to me to be a not-so-carefully scripted, off-the-cuff attempt at diminishing the attempted coup that Google orchestrated. What comes to mind when you hear someone from Microsoft say: "We'll just take a look at it and see as it evolves and as we listen to customers and developers if it's something we should do?"
I'm confident that they have already taken it apart, found out how (or whether) it will work as designed, and formed a team to make it better so it can be integrated with something in their suite (maybe
Windows Live - or
SharePoint?).
"Our mission in the Social Computing Group is to research and develop software that contributes to compelling and effective social interactions, with a focus on user-centered design processes and rapid prototyping."
I'm saying if you are too close to the exhaust on a plane, you think the device you are next to is made to warm your environment, when actually it's a part of a larger device made to take you to a completely different environment.
Your perspective is directly related to where you are standing, and in which direction you are facing. None of the three main players in this public relations joust were running anything but their mouths in the months before they emerged to take their respective positions.
Where was Microsoft, and who was listening to anything they were saying in the 70s?
Where was Google, and who was listening to anything they were saying in the 80s and much of the 90s?
Where was Facebook (or MySpace), and who was listening to anything they were saying in the 90s and early 2000s?
The voiced perspective of this VP tells me that Microsoft doesn't grasp the potential for social networking any better than they
grasped the potential for the Internet over a decade ago.
I want to hear from a real visionary . . . someone who isn't afraid to tell the emperor about his wardrobe faux pas . . . someone who can't stand the simplicity of the wheel and can take the ribbing from those who suggest he not try to re-invent it . . . someone who has been using a better mousetrap for years and didn't see the benefit of monetizing it . . . someone without an agenda :-)
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