Social Networking Fatigue (or why I’m not on Pownce)
Of course I’ve heard of Pownce. Any good web 2.0 blogger would have to be blind and deaf to have missed the rabid coverage of Kevin Rose’s new app. Kevin Rose has a brilliant site with Digg and Pownce looks just as slick. In case you missed it, Pownce is a new way to send messages, files, links, and events to your friends. It’s twitter on steriods, essentially. And it’s cool. It’s really cool. Yet, every time I thought to myself "I should go check out Pownce today", I found myself putting it off. Why the delay? I came to realize that I, web 2.0 blogger extraordinaire, may be feeling a little social networking fatigue. I’m on MySpace, facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, flickr, del.icio.us, and a million other networks of lesser importance, some used more than others. How many more places do I need to find and add more friends? Really, I think I’m good. I’ve got to draw the line somewhere…because as great as Pownce is, I’m probably not going to use it unless it goes mainstream. See, the thing is, if an application’s value depends on whether or not you have enough friends to make it a worthwhile tool, then it really has one fatal flaw. This is why I love services like box.net. I’ve used box.net to send large files to my dad, who, god bless him, is not the most tech-savvy person I know. Still, he could download the file sent to him just fine…and he didn’t have to "become my friend" on box.net to do so.
Worried that I was alone here with my 2.0 ennui, I did a little surfing, and discovered that there are other like me (see link list below). Are you like me?
Social Networking Fatigue Links:
- Social Networks Going the Way of Reality TV?
- Robert Scoble on Twitter vs Pownce
- Slashdot on Social Networking fatigue
- Critical Mass and Social Network fatigue
- Social Network fatigue on SFGate.com
- Could 2007 be the year of social network fatigue? on ZDNet
- Social Network Fatigue and the Missing Web 2.0 Address Book
Follow the conversation at YackTrack!
I’ve been using Pownce for a couple of days now and you’re certainly not missing out. I couldn’t agree more with
“if an application’s value depends on whether or not you have enough friends to make it a worthwhile tool, then it really has one fatal flaw”
However, Pownce has two fatal flaws, the second being that it doesn’t offer anything new that we haven’t seen before. It just looks better.
Maybe it is just me, but I don’t really get the appeal, not being a Twitter or Jaiku user, I still can’t figure out how these apps, specifically Pownce, are any better or more useful than an instant messenger or email.
I suspect most of its fame will arise from Kevin Rose/digg die-hards and its invite-only buzz.
To be honest, I’m just tired of hype.