Monday's news that Facebook had acquired FriendFeed for an undisclosed sum took many people by surprise, not the least of whom were the site's most-active users, many of whom have made the social sharing and aggregation platform their central nervous system for online activity and community. Initial reactions to the announcement had many people asking questions, extremely concerned that the site - as we know it - was doomed to close, and a lack of immediate denials from the company's leadership was seen by many as an implicit acceptance that yes, the end was near. But in the days following, from what I've seen and heard, it is clear to me that FriendFeed is not going away, that the company's being part of Facebook isn't the end of the world, and that after nearly two years of going it alone, the time had come to make a change.
marshal sandler on 17 Nov 08For Sale: Customer Activism in a Web 2.0 Era November 17, 2008 I am a firm believer that Customer Service and public discussions on the web will be an alternate channel similar to phone, email, or chat. At the same time I was not surprised to learn that the Consumerist on Friday announced that their parent company, Gawker Media, was putting the web property up for sale. Recently Get Satisfaction started a pay program to provide more control to companies. Will websites such as these ever be a profitable place? Are they even needed with all the blogs and other website out there?