http://tlf.disqus.com/The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.enSat, 29 Jul 2006 06:27:29 -0000http://techliberation.com/2006/07/28/software-patent-of-the-week-six-degrees-of-separation/#comment-1446647<p>This patent really highlights the utter insanity of the system. Lawsuits are inevitable. I guess Friendster is just mad because they're a complete failure. Remember the days when being a failure meant returning to the drawing board and coming up with something better? I've been there several times myself.<br><br></p><p>Friendster is over. The company just doesn't realize it yet. The market realizes that Friendster is over, that much is clear. No one cares about their site. According to the article in WSJ, their market share is pretty embarrassing. Actually, it's pretty much nothing. Less than a million visitors per month compared to Myspace at 45 million visitors per month and Facebook at 8 million? Friendster will never, ever, ever recover that traffic. That would be like trying to get consumers to switch from Coke to Pepsi or from Pepsi to Coke. Not going to happen. Friendster is an also ran, an insignificant brand, utterly irrelevant to the market. But that's just what the market says.<br><br></p><p>Psst. Hey Friendster ... um ... no one cares ... and the sooner you get over it, the better ... stop acting like a jilted lover and move on with your life ... yes millions of people prefer MySpace and Facebook ... who's fault is that? What if it's no one's fault? A patent isn't going to make you popular. A patent isn't going to suddenly inspire millions of people to join. A real product is what will attract people to your site again ... as a brand you have no significance in this category ... your patent will never, ever, ever, ever help you become a powerful brand in this category.<br><br></p><p>They will never be an important company and they'll never have any cultural significance in this category. I guess I don't see how their patent helps them. Sure they might make some money but what they want and need to sustain their organization ... cultural significance and massive mind share ... never gonna happen.<br><br></p><p>Patent or not, Friendster is over. Friendster has no useful life left as a social networking brand. MySpace already owns the category. MySpace is practically the category word. </p>MikeSat, 29 Jul 2006 06:27:29 -0000