Webomatica

 

Keep Your Eyes On FriendFeed: It May Be The Google Of Social Networks

May 23rd, 2008

In the past week, I have been ignoring Twitter, and noticed several things:

  • FriendFeed has largely replaced my use of Google Reader.
  • FriendFeed has essentially replaced my use of Twitter.
  • FriendFeed has definitely replaced my use of Facebook.
  • FriendFeed is fast.
  • FriendFeed has search (also fast).
  • FriendFeed isn’t standing still – they launched “rooms” out of nowhere.
  • All the tech bloggers I want to communicate with are on FriendFeed.

The general trend in my online life, at least: FriendFeed is taking over all my online social activity.

Rooms

Wait, what the heck are rooms? At first glance I found them rather inconsequential – basically a “mini FriendFeed” based around a particular subject. However, with further thought, they could also be:

FriendFeed: Rooms

I also noticed: FriendFeed with a bunch of rooms in menu bar at the top and users on the side, resembles a social network spread over different topics. Hmmm.

The Larger Picture

As web 1.0 imploded, Google appeared out of the blue after Microsoft and Yahoo! thought they had search wrapped up. Google’s stark, empty page with just a search box was a breath of fresh air in contrast to the image-laden and over monetized portals. Google stripped search back to the essentials and delivered wicked fast and surprisingly accurate search results. The rest is history.

I daresay FriendFeed is the clean, wicked fast social networking tool amid the cluttered and over-burdened social web 2.0 sites of today.

FriendFeed Is Taking On Digg And Reddit

FriendFeed cuts to the heart of my definition of social. All I want to do is share crap with people, comment on stuff, and feel like part of a community, and maybe meet some new eccentrics – as fast and efficiently as possible. FriendFeed does this via a bottomless stream of interesting stuff that goes on forever, without widgets, superpokes, emails, ads, or cutesy graphics.

FriendFeed contains the core function of the social web – sharing links and comments – and made it fast, easy, and fun – through simple choices. Moving comments up to the top level. A roll over a name gives you a link to follow them. Zero large images to make the stream the focus.

Digg and Reddit probably think they have social news totally locked up. They don’t.

FriendFeed Is Taking On Twitter

Then we have Twitter: a great idea, really short “tweets” that are sent to all your followers and also over cell phones. But they are faltering on execution and FriendFeed may be poised to take advantage of this. In FriendFeed you can share a line of text – just like a tweet. But once in FriendFeed, people can comment on those shared lines of text (can’t do that in Twitter), fostering conversation. Meanwhile, a mobile FriendFeed is surely in the works.

Twitter probably thinks they have tons of momentum and their users won’t leave for a more reliable service. I wouldn’t count on that.

FriendFeed Will Take On FaceBook

Lastly, we have Facebook with their social stream and just today, they’re talking about pulling activity from more websites into their walled garden. Sound familiar? FriendFeed does exactly that. Is Facebook scared of something?

Facebook may think they have the social stream locked up because they have a huge user base and everyone goes where their friends are. I wouldn’t count on that, either.

I Have FriendFeed Fever

These platitudes certainly read like hype, as Digg, Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook have multitudes more users and piles more traffic than FriendFeed. In addition, I’m just one user and it’s silly to extrapolate my experience out to the internet at large. But I’ll venture out on a limb here: I believe FriendFeed is the “real deal,” and it has the potential to challenge several assumed Web 2.0 successes so far – simultaneously.

Granted, considering FriendFeed the be-all-end-all social networking platform out there – the “one social Web 2.0 site to rule them all” is woefully presumptuous and premature. But I daresay there’s a reason why other early adopter bloggers like Robert Scoble, Louis Gray, Steven Hodson, Steve Rubel, Tony Hung, Duncan Riley, and Thomas Hawk have caught the “FriendFeed Fever.”

That reason is a gut feeling – that FriendFeed is simply a better tool. I had this feeling when I first used Google, Firefox, the iPod, and the iPhone. Something compelling, useful, fun, addicting, and a possible paradigm shift.

I would not be surprised to see Google suck FriendFeed back to the mothership and use it as the underpinnings to their fuzzy OpenSocial strategy: Gmail + GoogleReader + FriendFeed = look out.

Watch the heck out for FriendFeed. It’s the real freaking deal.

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  • Jason, great points. A lot of these reasons are why I stuck with FriendFeed despite the relatively small community to Twitter at the time. It's a pretty ballsy call but you back it up.

    The potential to blog on FriendFeed is still a little far fetched in my opinion, at this point. It needs trackbacks, easy image control, custom HTML, and more RSS feeds.

    Microblogging (aka Twittering), as I mentioned earlier today could definitely work in FriendFeed if they found a way to separate it from the rest of the content aggregation. I hide most posts from Twitter, Jaiku, and Pownce
  • Yeah I think a lot of us are finding FF surprisingly compelling. This post
    could easily be proven wrong in a year but right now it feels right.

    As for microblogging, it comes from the thought of people setting up rooms
    as their personal repository of random stuff. Since there are comments
    people could easily use it as a simple blog, and if public, a collaborative
    one. The rooms have their own RSS feeds. At least the foundation is there;
    perhaps friendfeed will add the other things you mention.
  • Marco
    I second Shey's comment
  • First off - This is your best tech post in a long while (by no means a dis to your other tech writing).

    I've been swimming around the edges of FriendFeed for a while now, but haven't taken the plunge yet. As much as I tried to get into it, Twitter never really turned my crank, so I've been a little dubious of former Twitter evangelists now piling onto FriendFeed. I'm already suffering from account overload, and I think long and hard these days before setting up new ones. That said, “one social Web 2.0 site to rule them all” is mighty appealing.

    I may not dive in this weekend, but I might spend a little time in the deep end.
  • heh well consider it reciprocity for you sharing that sweet nirvana
    documentary ;)

    I as well had been suffering from web 2.0 fatigue, and FF is actually doing
    a lot to solve that, as I finally feel free to close many of my other
    accounts at sites I haven't logged into for quite some time. Look me up if /
    when you get there: http://friendfeed.com/webomatica
  • Awesome post. FF definitely keeps me away from other social networking sites. Just seems like everything is already right there in front of me, always something new and interesting going on. Nobody trying to Own me or see what super hero I'm most like.

    Definitely seems like FF is up to something and I'm not complaining at all.
  • Mike
    Wow. You know what? I think you're completely right.

    Excellent observations. I'm with Shey - very bold, but you back it up.

    A couple of points to consider:

    • FriendFeed aggregates too, but I see no way out for data - do you? The thought of moving from one closed network to another doesn't give me much hope about the state of the web.
    • What would a newbie think of the name 'FriendFeed'? It's not familiar, like Facebook, and it's not otherworldly, like iPod. I haven't been able to pin it down yet.
  • Great post!
    I've also almost stopped using Google Reader because of friendfeed, and friendfeed could definitely be used as a microblogging platform, and doing that better than most of them.
  • Lot's of good points. Still I love twitter and hope it grows strong. FF is a baby in terms of numbers compared to Twitter of Facebook. I hope FF stays light and nimble though. They have great functionality... but how much heavy lifting do they have to do yet? Very little from what I can see and if messaging takes off in FF it could be whole different ball game, which will make things difficult for them.
  • yep I agree, one worry I have is that FF is super fast because it doesn't have a ton of users. Hopefully the ex-google team is already thinking ahead and will avoid the scaling issues of Twitter. I guess we'll see.
  • TechCrunch This is one of the dumbest things I have ever read. http://snurl.com/2adxk 7 minutes ago from twhirl
  • I'm going to have to go against the current line of comments. I like friendfeed, I think it's a great tool but you're completely off the mark, your post smells of fanboyism. I'm not saying thats a bad thing, but I think your over-enthusiasm dilutes your argument. Your points about Digg & Reddit especially were way off.

    Friendfeed is a site that is parasitic in nature, by that I mean it relies on other sites to thrive. A significant portion of its content is aggregated from other sites and as a result, even suggesting that it will replace these sites is a monumentous footbullet. It just does not make sense.

    The best thing about friendfeed is that it works well to compliment these other sites. In that regard, it is a fantastic concept in that it can take advantage in trends in site usage and stay relevant while a particular sites userbase fluctuates.
  • I'm glad to see some disagreement. I'll admit to slipping into "fanboyism" - what may have changed on my end is the switch from being a casual user to a passionate user. I'd call myself an Apple fanboy and a Google one, too. Guilty as charged.

    One could also say Digg and Reddit are parasitic in nature for the same reason you raise- what are they except lists of links to other sites? But many bloggers raise the issue that FF "steals" comments and conversation from their blogs. I think this argument will pass over time as people realize FF can drive traffic to their sites much as Digg and Reddit have. Look for evidence of "FF effect".
  • Some will naturally focus on the parisitical nature of things, but the true beauty is the symbiosis (having parasites can come with a lot of perks!).

    While I do not believe FF will ultimately be more popular than [insert whatever service you feel like here] I am a FriendFeed Fanboy. And a Google, Apple and BSG one, too...and quite often many of my fanboyisms come together nicely on FriendFeed. I haven't found any San Francisco Giants fans on FF, but I blame that on the Giants and not on FriendFeed!
  • I'm starting a line for whatever FriendFeed announces next.
  • Exactly, I was also going to point out Digg & Reddit's parasytic nature in my argument, but it made little sense to include it (it diluted my argument hehe) so I removed it.

    I was not particularly aware of the conversation problem with FF and bloggers, not being a blogger myself I dont particularly take notice of these kinds of things. I'm sure Paul@friendfeed is an incredibly intelligent person and will be able to figure out how to fix something like this. It would be fantastic to be able to use friendfeed as an entry point to conversations across multiple blogs if it could auto post into the comment system somehow and ensure it remains threaded.

    Oh, and just to make sure, theres nothing wrong with being a fanboy, its a common theme amongst internet folk. Passion is great, blind zealous fanaticism is umm... not so good. Dont drink the Kool-Aid!
  • kosmar
    think about getting friendfeed and jaiku assembled under the big G. and on the phone … did someone say social android?
  • Interesting post

    A standards based approach where all these services - Twitter, Jaiku, FB etc. can talk to each other will truly centralize things IMO. http://tinyurl.com/2328ks
  • izzymd
    Well I can say from first-hand experience that if not for all the problems on Twitter I probably would have never starting using FriendFeed. I saw so many people talking about it as an alternative that I created an account. I'm liking what I see so far, I wonder how many people with a similar experience there are out there.

    I just wished it looked a little more polished, the whole thing looks like it was tacked together by a web design amateur...
  • The Twitter issues is actually a big reason for my increased FF usage
    as well. I personally gave myself a break from Twitter starting last
    week and I soon realized FF filled my needs nicely.

    Haha, actually as a web designer myself it definitely look severely
    underdesigned - but in that craigslist kind of way - where utility is
    the emphasis.
  • Great points!

    FF has largely replaced Google Reader for me as well..I use Google Reader as a backup, to catch up on stuff I may have missed, and for sharing stories.

    I also believe FF is taking on Twitter...Once FF adds SMS and XMPP - watch out!
  • Great points and I too hope FriendFeed is thinking about scalability now instead of when it's too late like Twitter.Friend Feed is growing on me and I'm just plain over FBook. When FriendFeed adds IM and a mobile app I'll be all over it.
  • Nathan Lanier
    Except when a typical user hears about Friend Feed from a friend, they visit the site and don't understand the point. "I already have a Facebook account I use, what's this friend feed business??"

    When Google was new there was an instant "a-ha" moment upon visiting the site. It was like magic. Friend Feed doesn't even come close to having the broad appeal of a Google, or a Facebook or Myspace for that matter.

    It's a useful service that serves a large niche quite well, but it will never be anything beyond that.
  • Good point. I haven't tried telling "average joe" folks about
    friendfeed, and their reaction would be a good measure of if it has
    any mainstream appeal.
  • Nathan Lanier
    But that's not to say that they aren't providing a genuinely innovative and useful tool for early adopters, information junkies, and tech news followers.

    The only issue they face is that their service doesn't solve any problems for the average user. The average user has already developed highly effective habits of sharing information.

    Anyway, great thought provoking post - keep up the good work!
  • I agree. Humanity are into "firsts" then they stick to it. Some even go to "seconds" and "thirds", then they choose. A few even go to "fourths" and "fifths" even, and if they do, they get tired of all these stuff, they finally stick to whichever service most of their friends, colleagues, and networks use.

    Example. MySpace and Facebook is popular in the Western world, but not here in the Eastern World. Here in the Philippines alone, Friendster and Multiply are more common than MySpace and Facebook. Why? Most are on those two services, you will never get them out of it anymore. NOT even if you offer money if they stick and invite their friends to whatever-other-service.

    Yahoo Messenger for example. YM is hands-down the #1 IM in the Philippines, no other IM service comes close to the number of users YM have here. You won't be able to get most YM Filipinos to create an account on WLM, ICQ, AIM, Skype, Gtalk, not even if they're forced to by their work-bosses. Much more, WLM and YM can communicate already, so there's no need to.

    Friendfeed is similar. It will be popular there. It will be popular on niches, but that's about it. I haven't even encountered any Asean (ie South-East Asia) discussion or blog posts about FriendFeed since it started (I can't even remember if I posted a review of it when I was accepted in the beta). But Google Reader, Twitter, Jaiku, and other services FriendFeed can aggregate gets more attention and regular discussions and blog posts here.

    If FriendFeed will become the Google of Social Networks, then it has a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go.

    FriendFeed is great. I use it myself, but not active. The FriendFeed people also provide good quality of service and customer service, which is a big plus for me.

    Now, can someone tell me where or how to get that FriendFeed "blog comment" integration thingy? haha... that's the best way to spread FriendFeed in my country and in this region ;)
  • Now that I've had about a day to get beyond this post I feel I did get a bit ahead of myself. We'll check back in a year and see how wrong / right I was - I have certainly set myself up to be wrong. As for the FF comment plug in, I found one here (http://blog.slaven.net.au/wordpress-plugins/fri...) - I tried to install it on this blog and couldn't get it to work. Perhaps you'll have better luck.
  • Nah, it's not really about right or wrong, but more on analysis, that's what makes a good discussion :D

    As I've said, FriendFeed is great (I dont use FF coz its the same as FireFox :p ), and I like to add, I see it apart, as not tied-in to Twitter. It has potential to be the "Google" of SNS but they really have to make the product really great and appealing to the type of people who doesn't want to go "beyond" the common apps their circle of friends are using.

    Unlike you and me, and the rest of the techies, we test products and see its potential even though our circle doesn't want to join our new, cool, service we've joined. So far, at its current state, FriendFeed won't be able to target the masses. But it is possible. All it takes is their Vision ;)

    ---
    Hmm, it seems it's FriendFeed API. I really have to go back with programming. I'm using b2evolution ;) Or maybe ask someone to create a plugin for it for b2evo.
  • Definitely on the right track, although FF is still lacking some of the features to get it to the point you suggest...although I think that it is definitely heading in that direction. Once it enables full two-way social networking interaction (as Google's never launch SocialStream proposed) we have destination No. 1 online for everything.
  • Hi Duncan (like the inquisitr btw), I'm glad to hear I'm not totally
    off track with my crazy prognosticating. Yeah FF definitely needs more
    features, but based on the past relative speediness of the FF crew, I
    would count on them continuing to move faster to add such features
    than other services.
  • Well, I've jumped in... Now I just need to figure out how to play.
    http://friendfeed.com/zilber
  • Interesting. I've never heard of FriendFeed before. It is very intriguing. I like the fact that it makes the whole internet a social networking site - not just facebook or myspace or whatever the popular site is any given year.
  • Your story just made No. 1 Front page Sunday on BlogRunner .... Congrats!
  • What... okay. What do I do now? :|
  • There is still a place for Twitter. In fact I would take Twitter over FF.
  • Drug-induced and hilarious, really!!! However a few points are real :))))
  • Yeah this was a friday night rant - in retrospect I got a little off my usual path :)
  • I feel at the moment it's only good for topic centered social networking. There simply are no profiles on FF. Just names and pictures. You don't even notice what countries your friends are coming from. As much as I like this postnational networking, it currently is a limit to finding people and connecting. But imagine hovering over the names would pop up a window with all the relevant information from Facebook, LinkedIn, Xing etc. (of course in a customizable display).
  • very good post about friendfeed i don't know much about friendfeed after reading this i will go for friendfeed not for digg.
  • Ｆｒｉｅｎｄｌｙ ｇｒｅｅｔｉｎｇｓ! To the original poster, you mentioned:

    "All I want to do is share crap with people, comment on stuff, and feel like part of a community, and maybe meet some new eccentrics - as fast and efficiently as possible."

    Have you heard of and tried http://clipmarks.com ? It may do just what you want! What I especially like is how you can selectively share crap ;) by "clipping" the best parts of a webpage. There's definitely a friendly, vibrant community including eccentrics... like me! With the Clipmarks add-on (which I use in Firefox), it's even easier. I'm in solidarity about "fast and efficient"!

    Come on over and give it a spin. :)
  • Google will buy Friendfeed, just a suggestion ;)
  • Friendfeed looks to me like another social network site. People often say "not another social network site" Despite the big numbers of chat and social network sites there are only a handfull of well known ones so if a smaller player can make it in such a competitive market I say well done
  • Freindfeed seems to be going up against social bookmarking sites like digg and stumbleupon. As an online dating and chat rooms webmaster I dont see Friendfeed as a threat
  • This is a great service I have to admit
  • singlesonlinedatingsites
    Well it doesnt seem to have gotton off the ground, not too many people have even heard of it that I have asked. Look at Twitter, an success overnight.
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