Bulldog Financial’s Bullblog

Any one in the Web 2.0 space knows that MySpace is the bewilderingly ugly site that gets more traffic and press coverage than any other site out there with the exception of YouTube, though they are often mentioned in the same sentence. 100 million pages and $580m purchase by a second-tier internet (and first-tier media conglomerate) player set the tone for every other Web 2.0 company out there.

Most people would agree that the deal was a one time phenomenon, but the same can be said of Yahoo!’s orginal IPO, before Google came on the scene. I’m seeing a trend in Web 2.0 portal companies that are targeting various vertical niches, now that the broad “teen” category has been completely conquered by MySpace.

The shorthand for this is “MySpace for X”. The best examples I’ve seen are social networking sites targeting mothers (MomSpace if you will) like www.minti.com, www.clubmom.com (a Web 1.0 rebrand), www.mommybuzz.com, www.mayasmom.com and my Houston hometown favorite, the pre-lauch www.opmom.com. They all have several features in common, but each has their own ‘voice’, much like certain department stores sell the same items, but you feel differently when you go to one over the other.

I think that the vertical niche social network is here to stay, but not strictly as a stand alone sites. Based on people’s differing interests and self-identities, coupled with RSS feeds and widgets more social networks will be portable to other aggregation-based homepages. This is not a bad thing but it means that these niche communities have to stay relevant through personal engagement, not site “bling”.

It’s about 1pm on the day after the 2006 mid-term election. A couple of Senate races have yet to be called, but there is absolutely no doubt that the Democrats have given the Republicans what Tom Delay called “a Texas whipping”. When I went to sleep last night around 1am, I was dismayed but took some small comfort in the fact that Jim Talent of MO was in place to win. He’s one of the smartest politicians I’ve ever met, and it’s sad that we don’t have a guy like him representing us in government anymore. I’m not shocked, but I am disappointed in the outcome of that race and that fairly describes my opinion about the entire campaign.

The truth of the matter is not that Democrats won - they certainly did and I won’t vilify them for it, but that Republicans lost. I know that there is a rabid “Hate Bush” crowd that is rejoicing today, and I don’t begrudge their day in the sun. Those types one ones that can’t be reasoned with in any case and I don’t even try anymore - just like the “radical islamists” who blow themselves up to kill others. The people I’m concerned the most for is the moderates on both sides who voted the Republicans (not necessarily conservatives) out in favor of “Anti-’s” with no discernible plan for any of the things they’re “anti” about, namely the war and rampant spending. I honestly believe that Americans today are more vulnerable to foreign attacks than we were yesterday and we Republicans only have ourselves to blame at this point. Now the elections are over I hope that we can quiet the vitriolic rhetoric on both sides, but I doubt that will happen. I’m bracing for less focus on our military - a huge mistake in my opinion, higher taxes on the people that make the most money and provide the most jobs, and social programs that are designed to be equal - that is to say equally bad for everyone. We’ll see how things turn out, but I must tell you that I am deeply concerned for our future in the world.