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FF has largely replaced Google Reader for me as well..I use Google Reader as a backup, to catch up on stuff I may have missed, and for sharing stories.
I also believe FF is taking on Twitter...Once FF adds SMS and XMPP - watch out!
Friendfeed is a site that is parasitic in nature, by that I mean it relies on other sites to thrive. A significant portion of its content is aggregated from other sites and as a result, even suggesting that it will replace these sites is a monumentous footbullet. It just does not make sense.
The best thing about friendfeed is that it works well to compliment these other sites. In that regard, it is a fantastic concept in that it can take advantage in trends in site usage and stay relevant while a particular sites userbase fluctuates.
One could also say Digg and Reddit are parasitic in nature for the same reason you raise- what are they except lists of links to other sites? But many bloggers raise the issue that FF "steals" comments and conversation from their blogs. I think this argument will pass over time as people realize FF can drive traffic to their sites much as Digg and Reddit have. Look for evidence of "FF effect".
While I do not believe FF will ultimately be more popular than [insert whatever service you feel like here] I am a FriendFeed Fanboy. And a Google, Apple and BSG one, too...and quite often many of my fanboyisms come together nicely on FriendFeed. I haven't found any San Francisco Giants fans on FF, but I blame that on the Giants and not on FriendFeed!
I was not particularly aware of the conversation problem with FF and bloggers, not being a blogger myself I dont particularly take notice of these kinds of things. I'm sure Paul@friendfeed is an incredibly intelligent person and will be able to figure out how to fix something like this. It would be fantastic to be able to use friendfeed as an entry point to conversations across multiple blogs if it could auto post into the comment system somehow and ensure it remains threaded.
Oh, and just to make sure, theres nothing wrong with being a fanboy, its a common theme amongst internet folk. Passion is great, blind zealous fanaticism is umm... not so good. Dont drink the Kool-Aid!
The potential to blog on FriendFeed is still a little far fetched in my opinion, at this point. It needs trackbacks, easy image control, custom HTML, and more RSS feeds.
Microblogging (aka Twittering), as I mentioned earlier today could definitely work in FriendFeed if they found a way to separate it from the rest of the content aggregation. I hide most posts from Twitter, Jaiku, and Pownce
could easily be proven wrong in a year but right now it feels right.
As for microblogging, it comes from the thought of people setting up rooms
as their personal repository of random stuff. Since there are comments
people could easily use it as a simple blog, and if public, a collaborative
one. The rooms have their own RSS feeds. At least the foundation is there;
perhaps friendfeed will add the other things you mention.
I've been swimming around the edges of FriendFeed for a while now, but haven't taken the plunge yet. As much as I tried to get into it, Twitter never really turned my crank, so I've been a little dubious of former Twitter evangelists now piling onto FriendFeed. I'm already suffering from account overload, and I think long and hard these days before setting up new ones. That said, “one social Web 2.0 site to rule them all” is mighty appealing.
I may not dive in this weekend, but I might spend a little time in the deep end.
documentary ;)
I as well had been suffering from web 2.0 fatigue, and FF is actually doing
a lot to solve that, as I finally feel free to close many of my other
accounts at sites I haven't logged into for quite some time. Look me up if /
when you get there: http://friendfeed.com/webomatica
Definitely seems like FF is up to something and I'm not complaining at all.
Excellent observations. I'm with Shey - very bold, but you back it up.
A couple of points to consider:
• FriendFeed aggregates too, but I see no way out for data - do you? The thought of moving from one closed network to another doesn't give me much hope about the state of the web.
• What would a newbie think of the name 'FriendFeed'? It's not familiar, like Facebook, and it's not otherworldly, like iPod. I haven't been able to pin it down yet.
I've also almost stopped using Google Reader because of friendfeed, and friendfeed could definitely be used as a microblogging platform, and doing that better than most of them.
A standards based approach where all these services - Twitter, Jaiku, FB etc. can talk to each other will truly centralize things IMO. http://tinyurl.com/2328ks
I just wished it looked a little more polished, the whole thing looks like it was tacked together by a web design amateur...
as well. I personally gave myself a break from Twitter starting last
week and I soon realized FF filled my needs nicely.
Haha, actually as a web designer myself it definitely look severely
underdesigned - but in that craigslist kind of way - where utility is
the emphasis.
When Google was new there was an instant "a-ha" moment upon visiting the site. It was like magic. Friend Feed doesn't even come close to having the broad appeal of a Google, or a Facebook or Myspace for that matter.
It's a useful service that serves a large niche quite well, but it will never be anything beyond that.
friendfeed, and their reaction would be a good measure of if it has
any mainstream appeal.
The only issue they face is that their service doesn't solve any problems for the average user. The average user has already developed highly effective habits of sharing information.
Anyway, great thought provoking post - keep up the good work!
Example. MySpace and Facebook is popular in the Western world, but not here in the Eastern World. Here in the Philippines alone, Friendster and Multiply are more common than MySpace and Facebook. Why? Most are on those two services, you will never get them out of it anymore. NOT even if you offer money if they stick and invite their friends to whatever-other-service.
Yahoo Messenger for example. YM is hands-down the #1 IM in the Philippines, no other IM service comes close to the number of users YM have here. You won't be able to get most YM Filipinos to create an account on WLM, ICQ, AIM, Skype, Gtalk, not even if they're forced to by their work-bosses. Much more, WLM and YM can communicate already, so there's no need to.
Friendfeed is similar. It will be popular there. It will be popular on niches, but that's about it. I haven't even encountered any Asean (ie South-East Asia) discussion or blog posts about FriendFeed since it started (I can't even remember if I posted a review of it when I was accepted in the beta). But Google Reader, Twitter, Jaiku, and other services FriendFeed can aggregate gets more attention and regular discussions and blog posts here.
If FriendFeed will become the Google of Social Networks, then it has a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way to go.
FriendFeed is great. I use it myself, but not active. The FriendFeed people also provide good quality of service and customer service, which is a big plus for me.
Now, can someone tell me where or how to get that FriendFeed "blog comment" integration thingy? haha... that's the best way to spread FriendFeed in my country and in this region ;)
As I've said, FriendFeed is great (I dont use FF coz its the same as FireFox :p ), and I like to add, I see it apart, as not tied-in to Twitter. It has potential to be the "Google" of SNS but they really have to make the product really great and appealing to the type of people who doesn't want to go "beyond" the common apps their circle of friends are using.
Unlike you and me, and the rest of the techies, we test products and see its potential even though our circle doesn't want to join our new, cool, service we've joined. So far, at its current state, FriendFeed won't be able to target the masses. But it is possible. All it takes is their Vision ;)
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Hmm, it seems it's FriendFeed API. I really have to go back with programming. I'm using b2evolution ;) Or maybe ask someone to create a plugin for it for b2evo.
off track with my crazy prognosticating. Yeah FF definitely needs more
features, but based on the past relative speediness of the FF crew, I
would count on them continuing to move faster to add such features
than other services.
http://friendfeed.com/zilber
"All I want to do is share crap with people, comment on stuff, and feel like part of a community, and maybe meet some new eccentrics - as fast and efficiently as possible."
Have you heard of and tried http://clipmarks.com ? It may do just what you want! What I especially like is how you can selectively share crap ;) by "clipping" the best parts of a webpage. There's definitely a friendly, vibrant community including eccentrics... like me! With the Clipmarks add-on (which I use in Firefox), it's even easier. I'm in solidarity about "fast and efficient"!
Come on over and give it a spin. :)