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Why social networks fail or succed.

Tristan Louis has posted "5 reasons why social networks fail" and "5 reasons why social networks can succeed".

Reasons for failure:

  1. Privacy concerns
  2. No real reward or penalty system
  3. Not granular enough
  4. Not integrated with other apps
  5. Walled Gardens

Reasons for success:

  1. Viral Nature
  2. Online Identity
  3. Enhanced Knowledge
  4. Basic human need to share
  5. Basic human need to connect

I think Mr. Louis would be surprised at how we can configure social networks today. As we implement them more and more inside of organizations (walled gardens to a degree), the possibilities to add granularity, reward/penalty systems, and intergration with other apps is already happening.