An Open Letter to Bill Gates About Microsoft’s Answer to Myspace: Wallop.com
by
on November 19, 2006,
Dear Bill,
We heard about it, but now your beloved Microsoft has launched its answer to Myspace: Wallop.com. Sadly I am not invited yet so I cannot give the Profy.com readers an extensive test yet. But I can give them a preview of the features you are boasting it to have… Let's see, what is so unique.
That One feature you told us about is ‘paid interactive graphics’ which you can use to polish up your profile page. In other words; We’ll have to pay if we really want to have a flashy profile. Well to be honest with you Bill, Myspace has already done that. Not so much in Flash like you have done but certainly very flashy. And I doubt if very many people will spend a lot of money for a very flashy profile… that should be free. Strangely enough, Wallop seemed to have its revenue model totally based on the assumption that people will want to doll up their profiles, so you think you are going to make money by that then?
I cannot understand that Bill. You spend money copying good ideas of others just to create more of the same. Don’t you understand that it is not the self-expression part that is interesting to people in web 2.0, but the interaction part. People want to use internet to really create value to themselves, to share their mutual hobbies and interests Bill, they don’t want to just advertise, which is pretty much a one way process. We’ve had that, its called web 1.0 Bill!
But please go ahead with Wallop.com and leave web 2.0 and web 3.0 to the people who want to have an interactive experience. Such a shame that we probably will have to pay hundreds of dollars for a Vista license, indirectly subsidizing such neat ideas. After Zune (Ipod), the windows media files (MP3) and all the other copied ideas we are still hoping to see some innovation coming from Redmond.
Regards,
Ray
Got any ideas for tests or do you want strategic / consulting advise?: Have a look at my profile
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Why should it be free? We’ve had that. It’s called myspace.com, Ray. Wallop.com and myspace.com are completely different business models. Vista is not going to subsidize it. Unlike mycrap.com, wallop has a business model free of advertizing. And it’s about bloody time someone did. I prefer to pay to not have any advertizing. It’s easier than blocking hosts/sites like lads.myspace.com or doubleclick.net.
I find wallop.com is more like orkut.com, with a little more focus on presentation. There is little flashy about mycrap.com or myspace.com or whatever you kids are calling it
these days.
Web 2.0 is a great marketing term. It doesn’t really exist. There isn’t any new version of the world wide web, but only different uses of pre-existing technologies. It isn’t a scam or anything; there is some cool applications of distributed computing determined to be ‘trends’ and given a number. Web 3.0? Now that smells of the NY Times. I’m working on the Web 4.1 beta myself - it doesn’t use a keyboard, but interprets my thoughts, manages my fantasy football team and has some Web 4.0 bug fixes. Egads.
Is there a problem with a company entering an existing marketplace? XBox joining Playstation et al. Microsoft Expression copying the Macromedia suite. Microsoft’s greatest innovations probably come in the corporate side of things versus the retail sector. They are leaders in many categories, like it or not. While they spend time trying to make ‘iPod killers’ and ‘playstation killers’ other companies are busy trying to produce ‘Exchange killers’. I say to Bill, ig
nore Web 2.0 and 3.0 and 4.1 and whatever next number some publisher, newspaper or marketer will assign the newest internet trends, and just do better. If you’re going to make a wallop, make it better than anything else out there, with a decent business model, and befitting a market or a niche therein.
Now, if you’re going to do an open letter to Bill, at least put some substance in it.