Will Twitter Meet Digg’s Fate?
Fred Wilson seconds The Guradian’s Web picks for 2008. No surprise, of course, given that two of author Bobbie Johnson’s “hits” are Wilson funded companies, via his Union Square Ventures: Etsy and Twitter.
Wilson’s A VC blog is a promo fest for his portfoilio companies.
Wilson wants his A VC readers to buy a $30 oil spot vase, a $88 retro camera and a $500, 15 inch wire Harley-Davidson, all via his Etsy storefront.
Wilson wants his A VC readers to “Get a Voiki now!,” the latest animated product of his portfolio company, Oddcast.
Wilson wants all to “follow” him at Twitter.
A VC masterfully uses his “personal” blog to showcase his own USV portfolio companies. The A VC treatment, though, is not a guranteed win for funded companies. Wesabe, for example. Wilson on the runner-up Wesabe case:
Our portfolio company Wesabe was the first company to market in the web-based personal finance sector, which has gotten quite hot lately with the launch of competitors Mint and Geezeo. Wesabe’s taken a bit of a backseat on the visibility front in light of its competitor’s launches…
Wilson nevertheless is (publicly) upbeat: “This is a very big market opportunity and we think there is room for more than one large company in this category.”
But what about the “what are you doing category?,” aka Twitter? When Jaiku went to Google, the blogosphere was ablaze wondering “Why not Twitter?”
Why did Twitter miss out on Google acqusition love? How could a U.S. brand, adored by the tech blogosphere and founded by the founder of Google acquired Blogger be passed over for Finnish Jaiku?
We will most likely never know. We do know, however, that Twitter continues to frustrate its most ardent Tweeters. Dave Winer, for example. In September, he increduously annoited Twitter, a free consumer service, “mission critical.”
I pointed out to Winer, however: Is it really prudent, though, for any professional or business to abdicate control over “misssion critical” operations to a new, unproven, consumer facing, free Web 2.0 tool that is offered on an “as is” basis to be used “at your own risk.”
The Twitter non-performance “guarantee”:
We reserve the right to modify or terminate the Twitter.com service for any reason, without notice at any time.
Winer has since had his fill of Twitter’s non-performance,” lamenting now: “What other basic form of communication goes down for 12 hours at a time?”
Winer is so perturbed that his no-cost “mission critical” Twitter is not performing up to his non-paid expectations that he has put out specs for the Twitter clone he would like produced:
It’s fairly amazing that there isn’t a viable Twitter clone out there yet, one that does exactly what Twitter oes, and runs all its applications. I’d also like to see something much more decentralized, based on static files, available to any Twitter-like system. It doesn’t seem that far out of reach. With all the scaling troubles Twitter has had it’s surprising that there haven’t yet been any entrepreneurs willing to enter the space to compete with Twitter.
Despite Winer’s belief that there are no Twitter-worthy alternatives already on the Web, Jaiku and Pownce are indeed deemed by many to be Twitter competitors.
Pownce is a Kevin Rose co-production. Pownce is not open to the public and Rose’s Digg is being buried alive by its once greatest booster: Michael Arrington’s TechCrunch.
What about Twitter? Will it also soon be deemed a has-been by the very crowd that put it on a pedestal?
Twitter is massively used by the tech blogosphere for self-promotion, same as Digg. The Twitter team includes a geek celebrity, same as Digg. Twitter is hard-pressed to realize its crossover dreams, same as Digg.
Are Twitter’s tech glory days numbered?
ALSO: Mint CEO on Web 2.0 Nonsense AND Who Needs Wesabe: INTERVIEW and Wesabe USV: YOUR Financial Data Belongs on the Web!
AND: Digg: TechCrunch Bails on Arrington Web 2.0 Fave and Twitter and Facebook: The BIG Illusions of Friendship and Influence and Mahalo: Will Calacanis Win the Billion Dollar Startup Lottery in 2008?
