TIEcon 2008 Panel: Future Trends for Social Platforms: Killer Apps, Niche Social Networks, What Next?

TiE Host: Ro Choy - Vice President of Business Development, RockYou
Moderator: Gus Tai - General Partner, Trinity Ventures
Panelists:
Anil Dharni - Director of Products, Hi5 Networks Inc.
Seth Goldstein - CEO and Co-Founder, SocialMedia Networks
Sab Kanaujia - VP Digital Product Strategy & Development, NBC Universal
Keith Rabois - Head of Strategy and Business development, Slide, Inc.
Anthony Soohoo - SVP & GM, Entertainment Communities & Social Media, CBS Interactive

Lessons/Facts
Online shows and watching TV is similar in activity - Case: NCAA Tournament on CBS
Take fan base to enhance interaction -> higher ad & impressions
Apps that enhance communication works, not info apps
Realty based shows get more people to talk
maximize exposure by building communities based on the show
Widget (hard to monetize)
Platform strategy to monetize
Monetize mobilized social activities (games)
A decreased value proposition will cause product failure - if you don't need to spend much and the product can still spread, you're addressing an important need
Most social platforms don't know how to monetize. The main platform needs to be able to monetize to have the application useful for monetization
Data Portability the trend of the future
Vertical Market Platform: Context will drive CPM, even if a smaller market size (Flixster). BUT look at the size of the vertical. If its too niche also no good
Using network effect to prevent privacy. Release the premium content to everyone that doesn't have pirated content.