The Great Facebook/Google War

Facebook and Google--one the upstart punk, the other the old guard--all powerful and impenetrable.

It also could be classified in this way: The Social Net vs the Computerized Net. People vs Machines.

Wired has a fascinating take on this battle, or perhaps properly this coming battle and definitely worth the read.

Myself, i'm inclined to think that this battle, if it ever really materializes, won't necessarily end with one on top of the other--could be they combine even...or they just carve out different parts of the pie and peacefully co-exist...to be continued...

Can you buy virtual goods? Can you sell them? Are they real?

Ask Brock Pierce those questions and he'd likely be forced to admit that he hasn't a clue--despite the fact that he at one time owned the most promising virtual goods company in the world: Internet Gaming Entertainment.

Check out this fascinating tale of the rise and fall of a crazy business that dealt in the sale of stuff that doesn't really exist.

Web games and advertising

mystery games on the web are fun--kind of like that movie The Game--where things happen, people find things, post their findings to the web, new things are revealed eventually leading to a revelation of some company, band or what have you. recently, Nine Inch Nails made use of one of these web mysteries and it created a mini-web furor among fans.

that said, such games need to be carefully planned and considered before going forward--they can backfire or worse create absolutely no interest. so buyer beware.

At least we got Marmite...

When are we gonna get some of that smokin hot internet access they got in other countries? Like in the UK where you can get these crazy 16-24 mps speeds via Sky TV...sometimes my broadband access feels like dialup...