- Edelman launches a writing blog.
- Michael Arrington’s list of Web 2.0 companies in 2007 he can’t live without.
- This Cringely article captures the Web 2.0 startup phenomena from the point of view of the VC’s.
- Stowe’s Ten Thoughts for 2007
- Fred forecasts continued expansion in social networking in 2007. Stowe agrees with his prognosis for large established sites going social:
Established communities will go social
Ebay. Amazon. Wikipedia. Motley Fool. New York Times. What do these sites all have in common? They are large content sites with enormous communities. As the web goes social, individuals in these communities want to meet, learn about, learn from or even date fellow members of these communities. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for established communities to introduce social and profile aspects to their communities. First, it is a move that will get tech pundits talking, and the cluetrain folks applauding, as it embraces social and conversational aspects of community. Second, it will increase engagement between customers, therefore increasing the amount of time people will spend on the site. It also increases the amount of social capital individuals invest into their relationship with the content site, ultimately making individuals ambassadors of the brands into which they invest time.