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July 8, 2007

Google, Yahoo Both Working On Next Generation Social Networks

Michael Arrington

78 comments »

It’s a busy Sunday evening - first the news on Yahoo Mosh, and now news that Google is working on its own next generation social networking service called Socialstream, possibly to take the spotlight away from the ailing Orkut.

Yahoo Mosh

We don’t know much yet, other than the project exists, it will be launched at mosh.yahoo.com and is being called a “new cool social network product” within Yahoo. No screen shots are available yet. See our earlier post for more.


Google Socialstream

Google Operating System is reporting that Google is sponsoring a project at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute to “rethink and reinvent online social networking.” The project is called Socialstream. Click on the image for a larger view.

The project goal is to “create a system for users to seamlessly share, view, and respond to many types of social content across multiple networks.” More information is available deeper in the site:

Socialstream emphasizes improving social connections by making it more efficient to communicate with, share with, and view the social content of all the people in a user’s online social network. Socialstream provides a compelling user experience because it aggregates content across many different networks so a user has a single location to discover new content and communicate. The goal of Socialstream is to present social information in a way that ties it to the person who posted the information, and not the site from which it came.

The feature set and use cases suggest this will be more of an aggregator of existing social networking sites and features. There is absolutely no indication of whether or not this will be productized and launched at this time.

This video gives a good overview of the interface and features:

  • Sphere It

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at 10:06 pm and is filed under Company & Product Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Comments

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  1. Satish

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:18 pm

    First comment, read after. Thanks.

  2. Andrew

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:24 pm

    oh god enough with the social networks.

  3. Nemrut

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:24 pm

    Mike, there’s a significant difference between ’scenarios’ and ‘use cases’ where the former describes in general terms the action taking place while the latter spells out the step-by-step user interactions with the system.

    In fact, the link you provided to Carnegi Mellon aren’t even scenarios but more like ‘personas’ describing the differnt types of users and their behaviour.

    CM supposed to have a good HCI program but they seem to have their nomenclature mixed up…

  4. Broken Link

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:27 pm

    Carnegie Mellon University have the best search engine developers: Blacks, Muslims, Asians, Whites, Latino, Mexicans, Russians, etc.

    Yeap, I’m huge fan of Carnegie Mellon University students. I wanted to go that school. But, I have C average in my old failing college… :(

    I have very good search engine too. I’m too old to go back to college.

  5. K.Kaviraj

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:44 pm

    Yeeahh .. it does look like an “Social Network” aggregator ;-) …. I think people in Google always put 90% of their effort to think in a more technical manner ( making the application client rich , performance , AJAX , script , streaming , RSS , aggregation etc. ) - than think of a new good and intresting business logic in the site , which would make any man entertained …. ( Am a fan of Google ;-) .. and I marvel at their technical features in thier products ) ….. But I personnally think they should also concentrate on the softer side .. :-)

  6. Ramana Kovi

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:55 pm

    Interesting but may not be viable or feasible

    Aggregation of services/data requires permission from the service vendor. It is like starting new search service based Google search results without Google permission.

    IMHO deep integration of social relationships inside data or applications is what you will see. Large vendors like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft who have large user base but have no social networks speak off but has decent portfolio of applications can deliver on integrating social networking into applications.

  7. Ramana Kovi

    July 8th, 2007 at 10:58 pm

    Interesting but may not be viable or feasible

    Aggregation of services/data requires permission from the service vendor. It is like starting new search service based on Google search results without Google permission.

    IMHO deep integration of social relationships inside data or applications is what you will see. Large vendors like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft who have large user base but have no social networks to speak off but have decent portfolio of applications, can deliver an integrated social networking experience into applications.

  8. Kewtr

    July 8th, 2007 at 11:02 pm

    A couple of interesting things– one is that Google is back to having a new name to maintain, something they said was a real pain with Froogle. I know it’s not a real product yet and maybe never will be, but still.

    Second– Michael slid “productized” right into that write-up like it was nothing. Now that’s interesting.

  9. Eduardo Sciammarella

    July 8th, 2007 at 11:13 pm

    Aggregation of social networks is where this space is heading because it’s better value for the end user. The social network silos are made from social relationships that belong to people and content that is user generated. The walls are coming down and the data will be open one way or another. Now who’s going to make the best tools and experiences across networks and devices?

  10. josh carrier

    July 8th, 2007 at 11:16 pm

    The google one has been done before and failed by just a few companies!!!!

  11. Sotek

    July 8th, 2007 at 11:36 pm

    Yeah bring it on! We sure need more of those… S-(

  12. Jason

    July 8th, 2007 at 11:46 pm

    smart, i need to see an interface though. My only rebutle, do I really need to check my Myspace, Facebook and LinkedIn on the same site?

    By the way, I’m selling a mystery item on my daily deal site tonight, 1daysports.com. Check it out if you’d like.

    -jason

  13. Aydin Mirzaee

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:02 am

    What Google has to consider is that unless their interface is significantly better to a point where it is only logical to stop using Facebook, LinkedIn, etc… separately, this won’t work…

    the issue is that the Facebook interface, for example, is very intuitive. I don’t know how much more you can improve on that…

    Aydin.

  14. cax

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:05 am

    “…ailing orkut”
    +40 million users. Is it that bad????
    Ahhh, yes, they are from poor countries, Brazil, India…etc. (mostly)
    they do not generate enough buzz, money, etc [sic].
    How different is an Ad click from an 1st world country from a 3rd one?
    Do they have different rates for Ad clicks?

  15. Joe Duck

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:22 am

    Glad to hear Yahoo’s also working this angle. I’m glad to see focus on *aggregating* rather than on *content* because I think we have enough tools to create content now and what I want to see are very easy ways to spread content to the logical places without having to join/login/hassle with dozens of networks.

  16. Jono

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:33 am

    “How different is an Ad click from an 1st world country from a 3rd one?
    Do they have different rates for Ad clicks?”

    Yes, advertisers want users who will buy their product. Unfortunately, that means traffic from poorer countries are less valuable.

    I have a feeling Google and Yahoo won’t be as successful as one would think, and that most of this is probably more hype. Realistically, what was the last awesome project that either company released (developed in house) that made a huge dent in its market? I can think of Gmail…but thats about it!?

  17. smash

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:50 am

    http://www.profilelinker.com among others have already been working on this.

    i counldt help but notice virb having a feel of flickr, and causing me to think it was somehow tied to yahoo. i take it its not?

  18. Mark Zuckerberg

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:59 am

    It will be fun to watch these two play catch up.

  19. FireFox

    July 9th, 2007 at 1:08 am

    Finally, Yahoo became smart (strange?).

  20. Free Dating Site

    July 9th, 2007 at 1:41 am

    Well the concept is simple. They own the market. Whatever they might come up with would make a global buzz even if it’s not that good.

  21. blong

    July 9th, 2007 at 1:50 am

    @Cax: I love you. The udder transparency of today’s network cows and their regurgitated single minded goals will be their undoing. Eyeballs, clicks, lock-in, spam, context sensitive advertising enemas, cpm, garbage.

  22. cartoons

    July 9th, 2007 at 1:57 am

    another social network then… hope it’s good

  23. Sunny Kalara

    July 9th, 2007 at 2:08 am

    A master’s project sponsored by Google does not make it a Google Product.

    The project can also be seen at http://socialstream.net/project/ and interestingly, the domain name socialstream.net is registered to Blacktree, Inc (the quicksilver guys). Whole thing is just way too murky.

    BTW, Google is also sponsoring a pizza event; hope they aren’t planning to open a Pizzeria some time soon. It would be right up their alley; it would be a pizza “pie”, and they can call it gizza, a pizza with gazillion toppings.

  24. Dom

    July 9th, 2007 at 3:29 am

    Ack. Just what the web needs - more social networking sites.

    I’m slightly confused as to why either Google or Yahoo would even bother - they’ve both tried and failed at the social networking thing in the past (Orkut / 360).

    But the really weird thing is both their existing social sites have failed because they’ve failed to put resources into them and develop them.

  25. website copywriter

    July 9th, 2007 at 4:09 am

    I don’t know about Mosh, but I can totally see Socialstream catching up with other staple social networks actually.

  26. prash

    July 9th, 2007 at 4:21 am

    port 3001?
    can you say “rails”?
    :-)

  27. George Palmer

    July 9th, 2007 at 4:33 am

    http://www.meecard.com will be launching soon and they will be providing a similar service (although initially focused on combining and exposing your web accounts rather than managing from a single point)

  28. Thilak

    July 9th, 2007 at 5:12 am

    I’m expecting nothing more than a refurbished version of Orkut. And Yahoo will keep it’s culture of making things looks really posh, but unusable at the same time.

    Please! No more Social Networks. Why not try to improve the existing ones?

  29. yodel

    July 9th, 2007 at 5:36 am

    That chick on the demo made me want to throw up.

  30. KindAndThoughtful

    July 9th, 2007 at 6:08 am

    “The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate. “

  31. Vijay Teach Me

    July 9th, 2007 at 6:54 am

    Why not beat the heck out of social networking and allow people to share everything, their laundry, their garage etc.

    Vijay

  32. iclic

    July 9th, 2007 at 7:20 am

    Maybe that social networks need a standard, a bit like RSS.

  33. Online Marketing Help

    July 9th, 2007 at 7:27 am

    Well, if the first generation can be improved, I say go for it. I’m still scratching my head wondering why folks invest so much time on their social spaces as opposed to their own site or blog. I realize skill levels vary, but really, it’s very simply to start a blog these days, so why not at least invest time into something that might pay you back for the time you spend on it?

    Why invest YOUR time to build content, page views and ad impressions for someone else?

    …and if my logic holds water, and gains traction over time, could it spell doom and gloom for the whole social vertical? I mean, if everyone woke up tomorrow and suddenly just stopped posting in social spaces and started with their own blogs, what would happen?

    Could this even ever happen?

  34. Tim

    July 9th, 2007 at 7:32 am

    Vijay - your comment sounds like a joke, but this is actually what we are trying to do in a way with our new company, iRent2u.com - check it out.

    As for the mashed-up social networking solution from Google. The concept has incredible potential, but this will be extremely difficult to implement well.

    I am starting to lose a bit of faith in Google after so many incomplete efforts. I think Google makes great products, but can’t always execute what needs to be done to make it a market leader. One main thing they are missing is a real marketing process. Their determination to do zero marketing relegates their product only to those who try it out on their own.

    But what does Google really care. They have Google, and maps, and with those two apps they will rein for a long time to come. Can you say “Cash Cow?”

  35. Tim

    July 9th, 2007 at 7:34 am

    Online marketing guy -

    Blogs and social networks are totally different. Try using one a bit and you will understand. Not everyone is trying to market themselves. Most just want to connect with friends.

    Blogs are a broadcast medium. Social networks are focused more on interaction. Totally different.

  36. patricia

    July 9th, 2007 at 8:31 am

    I see things like this, and I kind of can’t help but think that everybody’s way - way - overthinking Web 2.0.

  37. beyondwww

    July 9th, 2007 at 8:57 am

    Well it seems really interesting!!!

  38. Concrete Stain

    July 9th, 2007 at 9:24 am

    with google and Yahoo competing it will be done right;

    - they both will throw money at it. This is bad news for any startup trying to do it themselves -

  39. viju

    July 9th, 2007 at 9:32 am

    I always wondered how google can come up with such a mediocre product like orkut. mediocre because there were absolutely no new features and it still had the same drab theme from its inception. So this product isn’t quite a surprise because whenever you look at orkut, you feel this isn’t quite google enough!

  40. Andy

    July 9th, 2007 at 10:12 am

    Well, its going to be good to see what they come up with.

    :)

  41. vyiech

    July 9th, 2007 at 10:43 am

    the interface looks like the social network aggregator http://www.spokeo.com

  42. Eduardo Sciammarella

    July 9th, 2007 at 11:42 am

    Facebook needs to acquire and integrate with their own browser soon… maybe Opera? It has to be Web and mobile. Social Networking + Browser = domination. Socialstream + Safari = bu-bye

  43. neal24

    July 9th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

    socialstream has impressive UI - though I am not sure how the timeline can scale if the user has a lot of friends (think 100+).

    Also, they seem to have copied MIT’s CS group’s Timeline project UI - http://simile.mit.edu/timeline/. The emphasis seems to be more on feeds/updates than on the profile.

  44. BAT

    July 9th, 2007 at 2:45 pm

    We need to wait and see until the project completes …..

  45. botzy

    July 9th, 2007 at 3:04 pm

    Not sure if this means anything, but take a look at the WS_FTP log file…

    http://www2.hcii.cs.cmu.edu/M-.....WS_FTP.LOG

    It doesn’t seem like anything has been upload or modified in almost a full year…either they moved dev to another more secure location or perhaps this project is no longer in production.

    Just pointing it out is all, I have no facts.

  46. Alex

    July 9th, 2007 at 3:14 pm

    That headline scared me… I really want to see what they come up with, but after watching the video it looks like we at ClutterMe.com are still working on some stuff they’re not. Phew!

    I’m surprised at how slow the Socialstream demo is though.

  47. M

    July 9th, 2007 at 6:20 pm

    Socialisation is coming…

  48. Michael

    July 9th, 2007 at 7:00 pm

    I can’t wait for Windows Live Events!

  49. Seth

    July 9th, 2007 at 8:23 pm

    “There is absolutely no indication of whether or not this will be productized and launched at this time.”

    Next time try to use a word that isn’t bull shit. Why not “…whether or not this product will be launched.”

    Productized? Did you find that when someone barfed up his alphabet cereal?

  50. Apple

    July 9th, 2007 at 8:43 pm

    Google is turning from good to evil .
    a simple search engine to content stealers.

    when was the last time google built a product ..? google checkout ?
    how many flavors of search products do they offer … web/images/video/news/books/..etc. ? can they develop any thing other than search …

    How many companies it acquires every week ? Google is killing innovation. they acquire the bright ideas and dump them.

  51. ProfessionalGun

    July 10th, 2007 at 12:45 pm

    @viju: I believe Orkut was a 20%-time project of one of the employees. I doubt it ever received the full attention of Google’s engineering/design/usability experts. They probably knew it would have limited traction from the start. (Orkut isn’t a very marketable name in the States, for instance.)

  52. J.

    July 10th, 2007 at 10:59 pm

    social networks? People need to get off their computers, and get a life.

  53. esvl

    July 13th, 2007 at 5:46 am

    Come on there is seriously to much social networks nowdays, I think everybody should get a blog and use their own blog as a place of contact with friends etc.

  54. Tim

    July 29th, 2007 at 4:29 am

    I agree with esvl. But I think now we haven’t a perfect blog system with social capabilities ( like automatic notification all my friends blogs about my postings ). Actually I’m thinking about creating one :).

    http://gtd-tools.com

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