The Sh*t L*st

A Friendster friend passed along the following article on Friendster from the Washington Post today:

"A 'Friendster' Counting Culture"

The article is subtitled, "Site Becomes Who-Knows-How-Many Contest." I just added my third friend on Friendster, so if it's a contest, I'm bringing up the rear with all you other antisocial losers out there. (The article, incidentally, mentions a reactionary site called "Introvertster" that "promotes itself as an online community that prevents stupid people and friends from harassing them online.")

What I found most interesting in the article was the revelation that Friendster plans to start charging a subscription fee. The crash test dummies interview in the article are asked if they would pay to use Friendster : "Not a chance," one replies. I agree. What makes Friendster a success is the very fact that it is free and that its user base has reached a critical mass where you can meet completely random but interesting people through your network, or that guy or girl you once went out with but haven't talked to in months. Also, it's mostly used by generation-xanga twentysomethings who appreciate clever, free stuff but don't particularly care to pay for it. They'll just move on to the next fad in its beta stage. (More mature users like myself already feel enough shame in using it that the fee may be just the boot we need to give it up and go out and find a mate and start having children, like we should've done long ago.)

An AP article linked from the Post article notes that Friendster only "eventually plans to charge for some features." The some is the circumstance in this case. For if Friendster tries to charge for its essential services -- signing up, searching, adding friends -- I predict it will fold quicker than Napster. What that leaves it to make money by, apart from advertising, I have no idea.