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John Armitage
At first glance, it may seem as though Facebook hit the internet lottery. For a while, that is simply how I viewed their seemingly overnight success. Then I remembered another site that was trying to rise to internet fame at the same time, Hi5. While the two sites had seemingly similar goals, their approach was entirely different.
Facebook was open only to those of us that had a valid college e-mail address. In contrast, Hi5 was available to anyone with access to the internet. At first glance, it would seem that Hi5 had the right tactic. If you want to gain new users, you should make memberships available to as many people as possible. There is a serious flaw with this approach, however, in that the internet is over run with people abusing false accounts for any number of reasons.
By limiting access to the site, Facebook was able to ensure that in nearly every case, the user was a genuine person. This meant that users were free from the annoyances that plagued start ups like Hi5. You didn’t have to waste time discerning between real and fake friend requests. For many (including myself, who signed up for Hi5 on the recommendation of a friend), then entire experience was ruined by the incessant messages from obviously false accounts. It doesn’t take a person long to realize that a never ending stream of friend requests from beautiful girls who call them “cutie” is in fact, a lie.
By no means was Facebook the most feature rich or user friendly social networking site on the internet, but 
from day one it provided a more secure environment for its users and protected them from an endless stream of spam in their inbox. From there, the positive word spread from the ever growing user base and Facebook gradually expanded to fill the desire for its services. Facebook (much like Digg) proved that starting with a smaller core of people that have been strategically targeted achieves greater results than simply opening your doors to people in all corners of the internet.
However, the demographics and tone at Facebook have shifted to capture a broader audience. No longer limiting itself to just college students, Facebook has stretched to hit high school students, business people, and even retirees. However, with this rapid expansion and growth can they avoid the same pitfalls that befell Hi5? For the present it looks like this is going to be the case, but the internet can be a strange creature and companies rise and fall all the time. Facebook must stay true to its roots in order to succeed. Maintain rapid expansion…while keeping the less savory folks out. MySpace is synonymous with to “Catch a Predator” now, can Facebook avoid the same fate? I believe that it can and must to survive.
