So MySpace + blogging + WOW A TAG CLOUD!!!!! isn’t going to take off.

Well done Vox team, you wasted your time and I can’t believe it has taken you so many months to come up with such a generic bunch of tools.

Social networks are not immune from the “laws” that govern all trends: the trend may persist long-term, but typically can’t perpetually maintain the same prominence and power it has in the beginning. The social networking market will come back to earth and it’s likely that within the next few years, we’ll see the emergence of the Next Big Thing that gets everybody excited and takes away some of the luster of social networking. Web 2.0 will be old news. Those with the opportunity to cash out should recognize the cyclical nature of all markets and give some thought to cashing out while the cycle is still in their favor. Some services, like Digg, probably aren’t long-term survivors unless they sell out, while others, like Facebook, can probably remain viable (but with less ridiculous valuations).

Social networks have now been commoditized and social networking features are being embedded within many existing websites and services. In a sense, social networking will be ubiquitous. Without some innovative features or business model, launches of products like Vox are boring. I’m excited to see startups that actually come up with something new, whether it’s on the technology side or the business side. For those of you that really like to think ahead, Ray Kurzweil’s argument that the personal computer will be a thing of the past in the relatively near future and that computing itself will be ubiquitous and embedded within all layers of our life (including our bodies) is fun to consider because, in retrospect, it would make all the hype about MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Google, etc. look silly.

Multiply has been up and running for several years and has the ability for users to post photos, write blogs, share videos, etc. with the people they actually know. I don’t see what Vox has to offer that isn’t already being done by Multiply.

I think the name is cool even edgy but a little too hip for it’s own good. Despite the templates that are available the general format just seems a little too well groomed or ‘vanilla.’ Thats why i dont think we’ll see a mass migration of Myspace users to Vox. It’s almost like comparing a strip mall to a Turkish bazaar–one is the epitome of orderly disply and conduct while the other is a cacaphony of spice merchants, rug dealers, snake charmers all competing for attention.

If Vox is hoping to attract/convert Myspace users it’s going to be an uphill battle given the time end effort invested by Myspace users into personalization and building a friends network.

Yeah, but Myspace is terrible. It won’t take much to get those people off there if a little bit of money’s involved. It just that none of these social websites make enough money to compensate their users with rewards. Myspace’s success simply came about because it’s name is simple and it’s perceived as cool by the general audience. Oh, and you can tried to get laid there, too.

If these people were logging on for something more, say direct incentives in the real world, then they’d flock like sheep to the next “cool” Internet venue.

Alternative social networks are certainly necessary and they are popping up to try to capture users that aren’t interested in the MySpace environment. The problem is that the general market going after these users is quite saturated. Vox is rather uninspiring because it’s targeting this same general market and doesn’t really have a lot of substance and a well-defined target. I don’t see a whole lot in terms of interesting technology and features that would compel me to join or to leave an existing social network. Had this not been launched by Six Apart, I don’t think this would get much enthusiasm.

Any startup that is looking to align them selves as direct competition to MySpace is running an uphill battle, but a company that is willing to partner with new technologies and offer the services that their users demand, will see success as the amount of users and companies feeling restricted by myspace begins to grow.