the filter is the power - google, digg, facebook, stumbleupon
a lot of great talks at the web 2.0 conference. the theme that struck with me is the need to create real businesses that make money, that make a difference and that matter. the me-too type businesses we have seen over the last two years or so in the web world need to go.
my favourite talk was by clay shirky stating we are not suffering from information overload rather the filters we rely on have failed. if you look at goolge, digg, stumbleupon these are sites that help us manage the deluge of information we are faced with everyday. now what we need is a fix for email. if only there was a filter for important and non important email. this has long been identified as a business area with potential and i agree. but the opportunity goes beyond email.
when people are gaming digg and creating link farms to fool google the filter we have come to rely on is our friends and families. they know us best. that’s one of the reasons why i love facebook. whether its through messages, status updates or my friends fanning activities, my friends passively filter information for me recommending things to do and places to go. fred wilson recently blogged about the importance and power of feeds. he is on to something that many others have realised for years. i think businesses that “filter” are ones that can change the world.
check out the videos from web 2.0 here and some great written summaries here. full disclosure - i work for facebook.
