Is the social networking monoculture ready to crumble?
Social networks have long relied on the kindness of what are essentially strangers in order to thrive. You might be thinking I'm talking about the people that use them, and I am. But I'm also referring to two other constituencies of social networks that are nearly as important and which happen to be vital for their long term growth and health: Developers and advertisers.
That's not all either. As a social networks get larger in size and longer in the tooth, they must add employees and venture capital firms to the mix as well, who want good returns on their time, effort, and investments. These groups end up pulling the business in different, competing directions. However, the tension resulting from the cross-purposes between all of these constituencies isn't really surprising. After all, social networks -- like businesses -- are themselves made of people. Differing agendas, objectives, and priorities are part of the mix, like any community of individuals.
