TechCrunch points to a Bear Stearns analyst presentation discussed in Barron's about Yahoo's need to develop a social networking strategy. Point blank, TechCrunch asks why hasn't Yahoo acquired a big social networking player yet? What are they waiting for?
Given Peck's valuations, it's time to stop and realize that soon it may be Facebook that would acquire Yahoo at some point. As I told AOL Money & Finance recently, "If Facebook does its branding right by losing its 'college' image, it could be the next Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) of social networking. Facebook has grown in popularity due to the company recently opening up participation from anyone (not just college students), so a lot of business owners and self-promoters are beginning to see success with it. Facebook's platform strategy also entailed opening their API, called F8 Platform, to outside developers. This makes Application development a very hot topic right now -- since companies are now given the ability to build their own programs and branded widgets that run within the Facebook community."
Point is, the future of Web 3.0 is increasingly about widgets, and Facebook's open integration and open API will make it a growing sticky and engaged site, as well as a gaming powerhouse and a web start page along the lines of Netvibes or Pageflakes.
In a reversal of roles, social networking sites may soon be asking themselves if they need to buy Yahoo to increase their online reach.
Source : http://prmachine.blogspot.com/2007/08/yahoos-social-networking-strategy.html
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