Mr. Google, social networks can only be bought, not built
Google is looking for a Head of Social to help them fend off Facebook. Nice try but it is doomed to fail.
Just look at Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Hi5, Wattpad, DeviantArt, Photobucket, Foursquare, Twitter etc. They are all started and run by entrepreneurs (at least until they get bought).
Look at Orkut, Google Video, Yahoo! Photos, Google Buzz etc. They are all started by big corps (and failed).
Looks like entrepreneurs are outscoring behemoths 30-0 and the trend will just continue.
Michael Arrington wrote an article today that summarizes it well – Product, especially social media (because it is so new), should be a dictatorship, not consensus driven. In big corporation, consensus would always overrule dictatorship (unless you are Apple).
Mr. Google, nice try. The new Head of Social will help but it won’t solve your social media problem. It is time to go shopping.
