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November 29, 2006

IT#8: Social-Networking Business for Sale on eBay? -bilandre

This Blog is in response to an article written about an Online dating site that is for sale on Ebay

The holiday season is coming upon us quicker than we think, and if you missed out on the Black Friday sales, then now it is time for you to gear up. As people flock to malls and retail stores, where parking can be an issue and the headaches only continue, there are those who choose to buy gifts from home. While TVC and mail order catalogs provide tons of excitement during the holiday season, eBay can be a strong alternative. Although eBay’s winter auctions include everything from a vintage signed Jimi Hendrix poster, to the highly sought-after Playstation 3, this holiday season provides for much more than just that. Instead of a poster or game consol, why not buy a friend their own business. Huh? Who buys a business through eBay? eBay’s newest auction is for the social networking website, www.hippiePersonals.com

When I first read this, I figured it was nothing more than buying a domain name which could become a social networking sight in the future, but boy was I wrong HippiePersonals is an up and running social network dating site with over 1800 members. The site is surprisingly diverse as well, with members from as far as Australia connecting. This offer, which has an opening bid of just under $10,000, is more than just a business. Winning the auction also bags you 55 other previously registered domain names that are ready to be turned into the next MySpace or Facebook.

Now $10,000 is a rather mild investment for a “working” business, but to me, this is a very risky idea. It requires a lot of research to effectively implement a well-run business idea, and seeing as bidding ends on December 4th, I can’t see this auction getting any takers. However, the description does say the website produces around $300/month in its current state, and by taking one look at the website, it is clear that there is a lot of room to grow. The interface could be made much more user friendly, and a lot more advertising space could be sold.

The offering of this website is an obvious attempt try and cash in on the social networking craze. It is pretty clear from the “item description” on the page that this guy is not making bank with this website, he just said he “doesn’t have time”. In other words, he created a website, it has a small number of users, and he doesn’t know what to do with it. And who could blame him? All of the advertising schemes, pricing structures, and revenue growth can be pretty daunting to someone without experience in the online advertising industry.

For the average Joe Schmoe trying to get rich, I would advise looking elsewhere. However, if someone is a risk taker, and has a background in online advertising, this type of open-ended website may be a perfect (albeit pricy) holiday gift!

Posted by brennels at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)

November 26, 2006

IT#7: Still Speculation, but Could the Bubble Soon Burst? -gfodell

There is no doubt that social networking sites are the hot topic of technology right now, at least when the talk is about cashing in on investments. The value of these sites increases with each additional member. Scott Taylor estimates that Myspace.com alone is worth $6 billion and growing. But have they reached their peak? I say this because anyone my age or older can remember the days when AOL instant messenger was the Myspace of its day. Everyone had an AIM account and used it daily to interact with friends much like Myspace and Facebook today.

I was reading the paper today and noticed that Google.com reached an all-time stock price high of over $500. This got me thinking, because they do not currently pay a dividend, yet investors are forking over increasing amounts of cash to own part of the company. They're spending billions on research and acquiring sites such as Myspace.com and youtube.com in hopes of generating advertising dollars. I'm waiting for these recent acquisitions to eventually drive down their parent companies, because I don't see any revenue in the future. But apparently I'm wrong. According to the article The Future of Social Networking Sites, "Social Networking is here to stay" for these reasons:

Although the parent companies of huge social networking sites (news corp. for myspace and google for youtube) were initally mocked for their willingness to put a lot of money on a risky investment...recent ideas such as a Myspace Store or a Myspace Magazine could potentially bring in a lot of profit.

At this stage it is still all speculation, and hopefully within the next few months these new ideas will be tested.

Posted by brennels at 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

November 06, 2006

IT#6: Thoughts on Social Networks for Professional Sports Teams -bilandre

These days, mega social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Friendster are known and used by millions of people every day. While these websites incorporate all forms of entertainment ranging from video clips, to music players, to picture slideshows, they do not lend themselves to probably the most well known form of entertainment: sports. The Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association are trying to capitalize on this huge market. With the help of Affinity Circles, the leading provider of trusted social networks for membership organizations, the Portland Trail Blazers announced plans to launch the first official social network for a professional basketball team. Utilizing Affinity Circles proven social networking platform, the Trail Blazers will create an online community in which fans can share their passion for the team, its players and the game.

My initial thoughts on this were somewhat mixed. I am an avid sports fan, so the idea of a sports related social networking site was very appealing. "Portland fans are passionate about the Trail Blazers, and about technology, so merging the two to create an official online community to support our team makes perfect sense," said team president and general manager, Steve Patterson. After giving this some thought, and realized that the Portland Trailblazers may not be the best team for this. The reason is because, well, they aren’t very good. In addition to this they do not have a huge following outside of the Portland area. Instead of using the site to cheer on the Trailblazers, or to meet new Trailblazers fans, it may give these disgruntled fans a forum to criticize the team. While Portland may not be the best team suited for this, the idea of creating a social network where fans can gather is a great one. Teams that are successful (and have a lot of fans) such as the LA Lakers or the Miami Heat could create thriving sites where people can interact by exchanging information on the teams and themselves.

These kinds of social networking sites are different from the social networking giants because they have a central theme: sports. Myspace and Facebook use general networking as an end to themselves, but these sites use social networking to promote a specific sports team. This is interesting to me, primarily because it might be an answer to the question on everyone’s mind: how can social networking sites turn a profit? The team-related social networking sites could lead to a somewhat viable business model by offering game tickets, team memorabilia (both new and vintage), etc. to these fans.

The Portland Trailblazers are not the only team to have caught onto the idea that this might be a worthwhile endeavor. The Indianapolis Colts as well as the NHL have come up with social networking sites, and in my opinion, this is just the beginning. It won’t be long before other teams see the potential of these sites and jump on the bandwagon.

The only question is, will people use these sites? We have already seen the pitiful reception of sports centered technology advances such as ESPN’s mobile phone; will this be another feeble attempt by marketers to capture the attention of the massive market segment that makes up “sports fans”? Personally, I think if this is well-executed, it could be a raging success. Granted some teams/sports will garner more interest than others, but let’s be honest, how cool would it be for a die-hard Mets fan living in LA to meet 10 other people in LA and get together to watch games? I think the potential for these sites is incredible. As always, considerations must be taken into account: there will be a number of uneducated fans spewing useless information, there may be multiple sites created for each team thereby diluting the number of people in one place, etc; however, there’s no doubt in my mind this can be done. Let the games begin!

Posted by brennels at 01:38 PM | Comments (1)