July 31st, 2007
Does Kevin Rose have the Next Big Thing in Social Networking?
I think Kevin Rose might be on the verge of something big, again. For those not familiar, Kevin is the founder of Digg, the social news aggregator that now boasts over 17 million unique visitors per month… and the latest to get into bed with Microsoft via its sweet ad deal. There is no doubt, at least in my mind, that Digg is not too far from some kind of a major liquidity event and Kevin will cash out quite handsomely. So on the heels of Digg’s successful incursion into the social news space, he has started up (with co-founder Leah Culver) another venture that has the potential to significantly transform, this time, the social networking industry… Pownce.
What Pownce offers is a key piece of functionality that is likely to take social networking to the next generation… peer-to-peer file-sharing capabilities. To explain why this is potentially significant, allow me to point you to a piece I wrote for ZDNet 15 months ago:
As we all know by now, social networking is all about self-expression. And for most, showing the world which music and videos you like is a big part of demonstrating who you are as an individual. In fact, social networks are proving to be a highly useful resource for the discovery and recommendation of all sorts of art forms and cultural products. But instead of simply declaring what you like, social networks turbo-charged with P2P capabilities will allow users to actually share. Compound this with the fact that social networks overlap… what I call the “Venns effect” (as in Venn diagrams)… and any one person can effectively have access to thousands or even millions of other connected “friends” beyond their immediate social circle. So if all of a sudden, one-click file-sharing is added to this equation, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what will probably happen next. I’d even be comfortable predicting that such a P2P-based social networking service could quite easily trump MySpace as the next “must-have” for teens.
With the aforementioned in mind, let me now point you to an article that just came today in the U.K. Telegraph titled “Illegal Music Downloads Hit Record High”. And here’s the money quote:
Four out of every ten social network users have music embedded in their personal profiles, rising to 65pc among teenagers.
Russell Hart, chief executive of Entertainment Media Research, described this phenomenon as “the democratisation of the music industry.
“Social networks are fundamentally changing the way we discover, purchase and use music,” he said. “The dynamics of democratisation, word of mouth recommendation and instant purchase challenge the established order and offer huge opportunities to forward-thinking businesses.”
The survey has further bad news for the music industry as it found that 43pc of those questioned are downloading tracks illegally, up from 36pc last year.
At the same time, there has been a dramatic slowdown in the growth of authorised downloads, with the number of legal downloaders growing by just 15pc this year, compared to 40pc in 2006.
So does this mean that Kevin is the new Shawn Fanning? Is Pownce the “son of KaZaA” or the “grandson of Napster”? In other words, should established media companies fear that Pownce will become the new hotbed for illegal file-sharing? The New York Times, which profiled Pownce just this past Sunday, certainly seems to think so:
Most file-sharing occurs on public sites, which can be monitored by media companies; if the users violate copyrights, the sites or the users themselves can be threatened into compliance or litigated out of existence (as happened with the original Napster). File-sharing on Pownce would be difficult to police.
If I were a media executive concerned about protecting my intellectual property, I would pounce on Pownce. It’s possibly no coincidence that the name Mr. Rose chose for his new venture suggests the Internet gamer’s jargon “pwn,” which means to take control of a system by exploiting some vulnerability.
There’s certainly the chance that Pownce could become the latest “nightmare” for media companies, but let me end this post the same way I ended my ZDNet piece, by saying:
The media players need to understand that P2P that’s embedded into social networks is a very different animal than previous generations of P2P, and the issues surrounding piracy are far less insidious and much more manageable. There’s still the issue of control over distribution, of course (they’ll have to let go), but the opportunities to monetize are substantial, as are the prospects for materially lowering marketing and distribution costs. At the end of the day, the most important factor that will ultimately influence the final outcome rests on the media companies themselves, and whether they try to fight it or co-opt it to their benefit.
In short, the major record labels and film studios in Hollywood should be going out of their way to call Kevin and Leah in order to discuss ways of doing business together.
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Pownce: la Killer Ap du “file sharing” ?
Publishing 2.0 | Does Kevin Rose Have the Next Big Thing in Social Networking?
whether they try to fight it or co-opt it to their benefit. In short, the major record labels and film studios in Hollywood should be going out of their way to call Kevin and Leah in order to discuss ways of doing business together. [IMG ] [IMG] (via tmonkey’s starred items in Google Reader)
http://publishing2.com/2007/07/31/does-kevin-rose-have-the-next-big-thing-in-social-networking/
Does Kevin Rose have the Next Big Thing in Social Networking? » Publishing 2.0
Robert Young are hot on our trails - there is not a second to lose! Digifling all your media before the doors are kicked in - spare not a second of time. The entertainment industry has produced such outstanding hits in music and movies during the last 10 years that
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So it’s a combination of IM and email to enable sharing stuff with a defined group of people in near real time. It’s almost a listserv for real time messaging. Sort of neat - but I’m having a hard time seeing it as revolutionary.
@COD,
What’s potentially revolutionary is file-sharing in the context of people you know and trust, via social networking groups that overlap with each other. Contrast this with previous p2p platforms, which were anonymous. It may seem like an oxymoron, but think of like “lighting up” a darknet.
OK, but as a logged in and known user, doesn’t that immediately damped the file sharing utility? Of course, there are plenty of legal reasons to share a file, but if Pownce is going to take off as a file sharing platform, it’ll be because of non-RIAA approved sharing. Now if the RIAA somehow woke up and got a clue…but that simply isn’t going happen anytime soon.
Also, there are already plenty of ways to share files with those you know and trust. The magic of file sharing ands recommendation services is tapping into the expertise and knowledge of those you don’t know.
I might be wrong, (it certainly won’t be the first time) but I’m not seeing it yet for Pownce.
COD,
you’re raising very valid points, but, the big difference between the way you are looking at this vs. my perspective is the following. For you, p2p file-sharing only works as an anonymous, illicit (e.g. free downloads) network. For me, p2p (and new innovative biz models based on it… e.g. superdistribution) represents the *optimal* path for legal, super-efficient digital media distribution & monetization. And, social networks will play a pivotal role in that transformation. Pownce, consequently, is the first real promising shot at that IMHO.
As for the RIAA… I wouldn’t count them out just yet. With EMI leading the effort to build the future of their business without DRM is a move that shouldn’t discounted. Again, social networks & p2p will play key roles in enabling legitimate & profitable business models.
So, how is this any different than people sharing files privately either through instant messaging, or through shared accounts such as Box.net?
The answer is “nothing”.
And if that’s the case, then I don’t see how its a convincing argument for Pownce == next big RIAA headache, because there have been, and continue to be many examples of technologies that allow private file sharing between friends and family.
Actually Tony, there’s a big difference. And it all comes down to the fundamental difference between the platforms you mentioned (IM and online file-storage sites like Box.net) and social networks like Facebook… and now Pownce.
Both Grouper and imeem started out as social networking/p2p file-sharing plays. Both got little traction with their original models and pivoted to different content distribution models. Why will Pownce succeed where Grouper and imeem didn’t?
Sandy,
The differences between Grouper & Imeem vs. Pownce are indeed subtle to the naked eye, yet sufficient enough to significantly alter their traction trajectories (much like Friendster vs. MySpace & Facebook). The key lies in looking at the different levels of friction each platform presents for any given uploaded file, in terms of rapid, viral distribution to the point of critical mass. For Grouper & Imeem, the friction for file-sharing is low only for your immediate defined group… beyond that closed group, friction gets high. But for Pownce, which is designed as a true social network in terms of group dynamics, friction for file-sharing stays low beyond your immediate group into potentially many degrees of separation beyond. There are many critical strategic implications that can be derived from such a difference, particularly from the perspective of media companies.
[…] Pownce: la Killer Ap du “file sharing” ? It’s possibly no coincidence that the name Mr. Rose chose for his new venture suggests the Internet gamer’s jargon “pwn,” which means to take control of a system by exploiting some vulnerability. (tags: socialmedia Media socialsoftware Pownce) […]
Wow, new medium for the cyberhip* bet they’ll use it to steal the breathe of newborns. I’ve never thought of sharing an mp3 on Pownce, Twitter, Tumblr or carrier pigeon.
Maybe we’re sharing a short video on make cheese grits or grandma’s 90th birthday.
*Jason Pontin article from 7/29/07 discussing Pownce.
I have tried both Pownce and Twitter and must say that by itself they arent of much value
Read more
http://abhishek.tiwari.com/2007/07/23/pownced-and-twitterized/