{"id":4450,"date":"2009-08-17T05:48:10","date_gmt":"2009-08-17T12:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.web-strategist.com\/blog\/?p=4450"},"modified":"2009-08-17T10:14:54","modified_gmt":"2009-08-17T17:14:54","slug":"the-future-of-facebook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web-strategist.com\/blog\/2009\/08\/17\/the-future-of-facebook\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Facebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

Facebook continues to make a series of evolutionary moves in recent months, rather than react to the news, let’s take a holistic look at where the company is headed. \u00a0 I’ve given my perspective to SFGate<\/a>, now but want to dive into details here. \u00a0I’ll give my perspective, but as we’ve seen time and time before, the real value is the collective\u00a0contributions\u00a0in the comments. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Evolving to a platform –not just a social network<\/strong>
\nFacebook isn’t a social network, it’s really a communications platform –in fact, when you look closely, it’s not unlike an operating system on the web. \u00a0Early innovations such as the instant messaging tool,then the applications platform that allowed 3rd party developers (called F8, correction: Just Facebook Platform)<\/a> aren’t unlike what Microsoft offers to consumers. \u00a0What\u00a0separates\u00a0them from others is the social news feed which aggregates what others in your network are doing. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Unique culture fosters innovation<\/strong>
\nIt’s important to examine the culture and leadership of a company as it’s a strong indicator of how they’ll behave. \u00a0Young, innovative, yet somewhat reserved leader Mark Zuckerberg continues to make choices that don’t always include what the community expects –or wants. \u00a0In my visits to their previous HQ, it was much like a dorm room: spray painted walls<\/a>, fancy cafeteria. \u00a0However recently, they moved out of downtown Palo Alto (to the determent of local businesses) to a centralized location on California avenue in biotech row off Page Mill. \u00a0The employee base, and culture reflect all of this:\u00a0the age of the untainted product teams indicate this –In my ripe old age of mid 30s, I’m clearly one of the oldest during my visits.<\/p>\n

Recent moves indicate move towards real time. <\/strong>
\nFast forward to summer 2009, and we’re starting to see some radical developments. \u00a0First with the acquisition of Friendfeed<\/a> which is mainly a talent acquisition and early snatching of potentially the next Twitter competitor, who they were unable to acquire. \u00a0Now we’re seeing indicators that they’re gearing up for mobile, and other devices like gaming consoles with a Facebook lite version<\/a> that is quickly delivers the basic for those that need to quickly find out what their community is doing and communicate back. \u00a0 Lately, we’ve seen indicators they want to find ways to improve real-time search<\/a>, which means they can help consumers make real time decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Awkward\u00a0adolescence\u00a0has its challenges<\/strong>
\nThe continued innovation is spurred by the\u00a0elusive\u00a0business model —this\u00a0awkwardness<\/a>\u00a0is a natural outcome of a company in growth. \u00a0I’ve heard a couple of times from various employees that they’re generating revenue (but there’s no official information available) yet I hear from brands that traditional advertising is ineffective. \u00a0Secondly, this constant innovation becomes a real burden on brands who have a difficult time understanding which tools to use and why, as well as 3rd party developers who are constantly rejiggering the changing API and Terms of Service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What to Expect in Facebook’s Future: A Web Based Operating System
\nSo what’s in store for Facebook in the future? \u00a0Here’s what we should expect:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n