Dear Reader,
Some savvy German computer nerds recently made more than € 100 million by selling their social networking portal—studiVZ—to a German publishing house. The portal was little more than 15 months old and really nothing more than an uninspired copy of facebook.com. What makes these virtual communities so valuable? What drives millions to register in virtual communities like MySpace or YouTube, accepting that their data will be spammed around the world? Why are we so confident that the fabulous Web 2.0 will create a new form of social capital?
Digital communities seem to be the way of the future; analog communities like church choirs, the auxiliary fire brigade, or bowling clubs are dusty relics of another generation. According to a Duke University study, the average American now has one third fewer friends than 20 years before. Perhaps some see social networking portals as a welcome means of addressing a deficient social life: You become a friend by being clicked, or you get a friend by clicking, and whoever has the most clicks wins! It sounds stupid, but that’s how these substitute communities work. Ultimately, however, virtual life is an ersatz life and a virtual friend is an ersatz friend. It will never help you enjoy life as a social being: looking, listening, interacting, reacting, smelling, discussing, reflecting, cuddling, attacking or loving a real person right next to you.
Be aware that all of these digital communities have only one final purpose: collecting user profiles and selling them to an investor. MySpace is already a working example of how to turn digital friendships into money. With the users’ blessing, every micromarket segment is listed, showing all of the users’ consuming preferences and making them available for advertisers at any time. This is a paradise for marketing agencies, and that is the root of these portals’ monetary worth.
In order to make real friends in a real community, I can only invite you to check out the incredible variety of real events in this month’s MUNICH FOUND. Enjoy looking, listening or participating at these events with living, breathing people in a world you can actually touch. And neither the Opera House nor the Pop artist will pester you afterwards with spam or unsolicited emails.
Sincerely,
Angela Wilson
