Many of the new web 2.0 sites contain a viral element to help them attract new users and generate new content. Some sites are better at this then others ning.com or facebook.com or youtube.com for example. Let’s look at how these sites differ in their techniques of using viral elements.

YouTube – Post a video, now put it on your own web site while promoting the YouTube brand.

Facebook – Goes after existing communities of people (schools and work places). Get everyone to drive their friends to Facebook so that they can keep track of each other.

Ning – Who needs Facebook, why not create your own network and invite your friends?

I suppose I am comparing apples and oranges here since these sites are all different in how they obtain new users, but in the end it comes down to one concept: Tell your friends to sign up for our service!!!

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Apple iPhone 3G

It would be helpful to have some actual information “from the source” rather than a bunch of analysts telling us it will be here in June. For that matter, now the rumor mill has a specific date – June 9. Come on guys quit reporting rumors and stick to reporting what is actually known. And Apple, it would be nice if you would make some sort of comments on your new products.

Mario Kart Wii

Same old graphics, same old characters, new and revised levels and vehicles, worse controls… I’ll stick with Double Dash for now thanks. Then again it took me about a week to get accustomed to the Double Dash controls when it came out to, so what are first impressions worth anyway?

Twitter

Twitter, here is what I think about you: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/4/23/. WARNING: link contains offensive language, but an appropriate Twitter comic.

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We’ve all seen YouTube and the dozens of YouTube knock-offs that have sprung up, but has you seen http://e-zekiel.tv/? E-Zekiel.tv is trying to reach the church audience and offer YouTube-like services targeted at the church sites hosted on its web servers at: http://axletreemedia.com. From what I can tell they have no staying power in the industry.

What traits do you think are necessary in a successful YouTube competitor?

My list includes:

• Valid profit-making strategy (ads don’t do it for me)
• Sustainable user-base
• Niche market

This past week, Yahoo pulled a fast one. After quickly turning down Microsoft’s bid to purchase the company, Yahoo launched a new advertising platform called Apex.  In a second announcement, Yahoo also launched a new site similar to Digg called Yahoo Buzz found at http://www.buzz.yahoo.com.

I have not had the time to personally look into these new Yahoo services, but figured it would be nice to let you all know what has been going on.

The Internet by its very nature is impersonal. Social networking sites and Web 2.0 as a whole have attempted to create a more personal experience for Internet users, but will this idea last? Web 3.0 is on the way and it is all about using computers to do advanced things–things a human would normally be required to do.

Google wants to bring you news, but this news will be made up of numerous articles from media companies. RSS (Real Simple Syndication) puts headlines from the subject of your choosing right on your desktop. Sites like Digg will bring you information voted as good from other people.  No longer do users want to have to sift through information, they want it done for them.

Does this mean that social networking sites will become less relevant? That depends on if individuals want a way to track contacts, meet new people, and connect with others using technology. My thoughts are that the internet will evolve, but its impersonal nature will always exist. Its what we want, and the Internet is only evolving because we want more from it. It will only change into something the masses want.

Apple is attempting to put the “I” back into technology. Social networking sites and other Web 2.0 applications put the focus on the individual. Web 3.0 will still focus on “you” it will just mean that instead of you inputting a lot of data all over the place and meeting new people by contacting them, application will do this work for you. You will feel important, only because you will get exactly what you want instantly, without doing a lot of work.