Pownce announced today that they were closing their doors and taking their technology to Six Apart. I had an account there, but rarely used it - it was essentially like Twitter for file sharing.
It's tempting to say this the recession affecting the web. And it's probably true that the usual rationalization and consolidation is happening now that valuations are down and some people think they can make some good investments and others think they should take the money and get out before things get worse.
On the other hand, there's a lot of duplicate services out there - for alternatives to Twitter checkout Jaiku or Identi.ca to name others where I'm a lurker. It's not surprising that some of the minds behind ideas (business and technology) want to opening cooperate (and compete internally) rather than compete openly.
And the consolidation is good for the end-users too. Platform developers can concentrate their efforts and there will be a lot less jumping around trying to follow friends on one web site or another.
I got my shut down notice email this morning: Meh! I never really used Pownce, they had some cool features but it was just too much like Twitter but not enough like it to be any good. The big lesson that we all have to learn again from Web2.0 is that it's not about the technology or the way it looks or how many vowels are missing from the name. Web 2.0 is about who's using it. I went to Twitter because of Leo Laporte, but stuck with it because of the community that contributed to it. Folks like @Schutlzter, @hotsdogsladies, @ambermacarthur, @stephenfry. But even better it got me to know a few other bright sparks a little better like @laurentlassale, @jfdube and @nantel.
ReplyDeleteI think Pownce was too much of a me too tool, and a little too late to the game as well. (I fear identi.ca will go the same way.) That definitely came across when Kevin Rose, Pownce co-founder, took to Twitter more than championing his own service. For all of Twitters faults, it's community continues to stick with and make it better and make you want to come back for more.
I didn't mention it my original post, but there's always (even in the Web 2.0) a bit of a incumbent inertia for any new entrant to overcome. Twitter might not have the latest features or be the coolest platform, but it has the biggest, most vibrant "society" and that's what keeps people there.
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