Radio station tags, song submissions, original photographs and more -- keep 'em comin' at CaptainCaptainIndustries@gmail.com! We are who we are strictly because of the support we're constantly getting from our community -- fans first, always. Seriously, we're jumpin' all over these radio tags -- for more information on what you can do to regularly appear on our radio show, visit our previous post! Casal from Believe did, and we're frequently beginning our programs with these, so of course we'll always accept those.
In the spirit of today's NFL Draft, I wrote up a little somethin'-somethin' regarding the biggest busts in social media, a collaboration between school and work. I promise, artists features are soon-to-come, but we'll be experiencing some upgrades of our own soon, including more original posts from the office here.
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In the spirit of today's NFL Draft, I wrote up a little somethin'-somethin' regarding the biggest busts in social media, a collaboration between school and work. I promise, artists features are soon-to-come, but we'll be experiencing some upgrades of our own soon, including more original posts from the office here.
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Brand recognition, a plethora of followers, and lucrative financial success; three components that solidify a social media giant. With millions (and almost billions) of available users practically sprinting to the latest expressive form of online-communication, the pressure to perform, innovate, and maintain is extremely high. That final point -- maintaining clientele -- eventually spelled disaster for many former web-based tycoons. Below, we'll examine a few of these once popular social media kings while also observing what could be learned from the fatal mistakes of these businesses.
1.) Google Buzz - Google Buzz, one of Google's three endeavors into social media, launched in late 2010. While Google Buzz had both the visual appeal and the flash-pan fan base, it didn't stick around for long, succumbing to the surrounding social outlets in a relatively shorter time-span. The 'failure' of Buzz prompted Google to launch the much more successful "Google+", quickly learning from the mistakes of their former project. Google+ quickly eclipsed Buzz, reaching the ten-million mark in the summer of 2011 and eliminating almost any hope of a "Buzz revival".
2.) Yahoo! 360/Pulse - Yahoo! has a history of complete misses in the social media world, with both Yahoo! 360 and Yahoo! Pulse providing distinct examples. Predating Google's attempts, Yahoo! 360 was unveiled in 2005. Crafting the early concept combining 'search engine community' and 'social media', Yahoo! 360 lasted all but two years and couldn't quite reach the high expectations that they'd set for themselves. Yahoo! Pulse, a conglomerate of Yahoo! applications, debuted in 2010. Using Flickr as the main drawing point, Pulse quickly had to add an additional Facebook application to ensure consistency amongst users. The dependence of the Facebook community stifled Pulse, and though it's still available today, numbers are declining rapidly. Yahoo's one major social media success, the 'ask' function of Yahoo!, continues to be a heavily-trafficked information resource.
3.) Bebo - Once an unchallenged empire, Bebo's fall from grace didn't happen overnight. Launched in 2005 by San Franciscan programmer Michael Birch, Bebo had an extraordinarily impressive run that helped pave the way for other media websites, notably Facebook. So -- what exactly transformed an up-and-coming prospect into an absolute disaster? Money, of course! AOL purchased Bebo for approx. eight-hundred-and-fifty million dollars in 2008, leading many to believe that Bebo was ready to expand into 'dynasty territory'. However, AOL's hefty purchase only allowed for tremendous budget cuts soon after, cutting Bebo's resources at an extremely vulnerable time. In the same time that Bebo was struggling, Facebook and Twitter exploded, etching Bebo into the history books.
4.) Friendster - Not necessarily a 'flop', Friendster was one of the original fathers of social media. Founded in 2002 by Jonathan Abrams, Friendster provided users with a bare-bones version of today's 'news feed'. Focusing on profile design and user history, Friendster 'peaked' in 2003. Friendster was considered the premiere social media website until around April 2004, about the same time MySpace was gathering a surge in traffic. The Friendster of yesteryear closed its doors in mid-2011, but relaunched as a gaming platform in June of that year. It is now highly popular in certain Asian countries, making up 90% of its demographic.
5.) Ping - Steve Jobs was a genius -- a man of his magnitude may never grace the technological world again. However, there was one territory in which Jobs could never conquer -- social media. Ping, an Apple-based online media service, focused on music-based discussions amongst users while also maintaining a user-artist connection. Launched in September of 2010, the service eventually garnered more than one million users. Highly considered a drawback to the service was the mandatory subscription to iTunes, which greatly limited potential newcomers. Also, the lack of moderation proved to be detrimental, and spam became prominent. A steady legal battle with Facebook throughout most of Ping's rise also proved to be a dark cloud, and was considered a 'flop' by the end of 2011.
6.) MySpace - Perhaps the 'Titanic' (or Donovan McNabb) of social media collapses, MySpace held such a strong grip of social media that many close competitors discontinued their services. Founded by Tom Anderson in 2003, MySpace connected users with other users, bands, cinematographers, and many other pop culture outlets. MySpace surpassed Google's previously unchallenged reign on the Internet in 2006, and held this title until late 2007. In April 2008, Facebook overtook MySpace in page views, and since then MySpace has dropped significantly. Tom Anderson sold the company in 2009, and has since been spotted on Facebook, amongst other social media outlets. In late June of 2011, pop star Justin Timberlake purchased the website for thirty-five million dollars. As of December of 2011, MySpace was ranked 138th in web traffic, and despite several redesigns, MySpace continues to sink in web traffic.
Senior Editor/Regional Board Member,
Cameron M. Sales
1.) Google Buzz - Google Buzz, one of Google's three endeavors into social media, launched in late 2010. While Google Buzz had both the visual appeal and the flash-pan fan base, it didn't stick around for long, succumbing to the surrounding social outlets in a relatively shorter time-span. The 'failure' of Buzz prompted Google to launch the much more successful "Google+", quickly learning from the mistakes of their former project. Google+ quickly eclipsed Buzz, reaching the ten-million mark in the summer of 2011 and eliminating almost any hope of a "Buzz revival".
2.) Yahoo! 360/Pulse - Yahoo! has a history of complete misses in the social media world, with both Yahoo! 360 and Yahoo! Pulse providing distinct examples. Predating Google's attempts, Yahoo! 360 was unveiled in 2005. Crafting the early concept combining 'search engine community' and 'social media', Yahoo! 360 lasted all but two years and couldn't quite reach the high expectations that they'd set for themselves. Yahoo! Pulse, a conglomerate of Yahoo! applications, debuted in 2010. Using Flickr as the main drawing point, Pulse quickly had to add an additional Facebook application to ensure consistency amongst users. The dependence of the Facebook community stifled Pulse, and though it's still available today, numbers are declining rapidly. Yahoo's one major social media success, the 'ask' function of Yahoo!, continues to be a heavily-trafficked information resource.
3.) Bebo - Once an unchallenged empire, Bebo's fall from grace didn't happen overnight. Launched in 2005 by San Franciscan programmer Michael Birch, Bebo had an extraordinarily impressive run that helped pave the way for other media websites, notably Facebook. So -- what exactly transformed an up-and-coming prospect into an absolute disaster? Money, of course! AOL purchased Bebo for approx. eight-hundred-and-fifty million dollars in 2008, leading many to believe that Bebo was ready to expand into 'dynasty territory'. However, AOL's hefty purchase only allowed for tremendous budget cuts soon after, cutting Bebo's resources at an extremely vulnerable time. In the same time that Bebo was struggling, Facebook and Twitter exploded, etching Bebo into the history books.
4.) Friendster - Not necessarily a 'flop', Friendster was one of the original fathers of social media. Founded in 2002 by Jonathan Abrams, Friendster provided users with a bare-bones version of today's 'news feed'. Focusing on profile design and user history, Friendster 'peaked' in 2003. Friendster was considered the premiere social media website until around April 2004, about the same time MySpace was gathering a surge in traffic. The Friendster of yesteryear closed its doors in mid-2011, but relaunched as a gaming platform in June of that year. It is now highly popular in certain Asian countries, making up 90% of its demographic.
5.) Ping - Steve Jobs was a genius -- a man of his magnitude may never grace the technological world again. However, there was one territory in which Jobs could never conquer -- social media. Ping, an Apple-based online media service, focused on music-based discussions amongst users while also maintaining a user-artist connection. Launched in September of 2010, the service eventually garnered more than one million users. Highly considered a drawback to the service was the mandatory subscription to iTunes, which greatly limited potential newcomers. Also, the lack of moderation proved to be detrimental, and spam became prominent. A steady legal battle with Facebook throughout most of Ping's rise also proved to be a dark cloud, and was considered a 'flop' by the end of 2011.
6.) MySpace - Perhaps the 'Titanic' (or Donovan McNabb) of social media collapses, MySpace held such a strong grip of social media that many close competitors discontinued their services. Founded by Tom Anderson in 2003, MySpace connected users with other users, bands, cinematographers, and many other pop culture outlets. MySpace surpassed Google's previously unchallenged reign on the Internet in 2006, and held this title until late 2007. In April 2008, Facebook overtook MySpace in page views, and since then MySpace has dropped significantly. Tom Anderson sold the company in 2009, and has since been spotted on Facebook, amongst other social media outlets. In late June of 2011, pop star Justin Timberlake purchased the website for thirty-five million dollars. As of December of 2011, MySpace was ranked 138th in web traffic, and despite several redesigns, MySpace continues to sink in web traffic.
Senior Editor/Regional Board Member,
Cameron M. Sales
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