Strategic implications

Futuristic Play: Virtual items design: Build it yourself or use UGC?. "At the end of the day, I'm of the mind that the best way to become a platform is to build a great application. If you're successful, other people will want to build on top of you and you’ll become a platform whether you want to (a la Facebook) or not (a la MySpace). Setting out to be a platform from day one (and that's what I think Linden and others have done) is just a much harder road. But it you make it work, you avoid all of the retrofit problems that happen when applications need to rework themselves to be platforms."

HipMojo: 20 Dumb Things About Web 2.0. "Much the same way that loose money and easy credit created the real estate and housing bubble, open source software and cheap hardware created an environment of over-supply of me-too products that have absolutely no bargaining power in M&A or fundraising."

Anek.com: Framtiden kanske inte var helt gratis ändå. "Det är i detta läge världens onlineaktörer börjar damma av sina gamla planer om att ta betalt från kunden. Man börjar inse att om man levererar verkligt värde till kunden så är kunden villig att betala. Och det blir också en trygghet att massan av kunder inte är så nojiga och labila som annonsörer."

Andie's Log: The importance of iTunes for the iPhone success. "Apple claims they’ve “re-invented the phone”, but that reinvention I’d say is more about the natural connection to the computer than the functionality of the device itself. The OS, interface and touch controls are fabulous, but just like with the iPod a lot of people don’t seem to understand the importance of connecting the mobile device with limited functionality to a full computer desktop environment where it can be managed and connected to the important data that lives there."

Bret on Social Games: A Case for Cloning Games. "To sum up: cloning is necessary to serve the audience. In large markets, clones enlarge the served market, rather than cannibalize it. So to not clone, would not only be stupid, it'd be a disservice to the market."