The Promise and Pitfalls of Social Networking
Darwin (11/03) ; Boyd, Stowe

A Working Model managing director Stowe Boyd admits that he is "a strongly biased advocate" for social networking, and has no reservations about investors pouring early-stage capital into social networks. He says the Internet can deepen social networking--people's tendency to cluster into groups, exchange information and contacts, and hasten toward their personal objectives via interaction. The uptake of social networking solutions is being spurred by their promise of determining the optimal or fastest route to another person, whether one is selling something or simply looking to increase one's contacts. Boyd says the practical applications of social networking solutions face a number of hurdles, chief among them a lack of critical mass; a dearth of awareness about social networking's benefits is also a major hindrance, though Boyd thinks that rising startup budgets and extensive media coverage will soon overcome that obstacle. Social networking's "viral" bottom-up nature also works in its favor, but Boyd writes that a shortage of social network compatibility has resulted in a fragmented, patchwork market of myriad social networking solutions. Boyd argues, "We are stuck at the Beta-versus-VHS fork in the road, where some company (or a few at the most) will break out of the pack...and establish a de facto standard for social networking." Key to the adoption of social networking solutions is clear proof that they offer solid business payback, in comparison to their real-world counterparts. Boyd concludes that the last obstacle in the way of social networking products is their design as standalone systems that are isolated from information technologies businesses are already employing to manage business relationships or relationship-connected data.
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