Entropy of Social Network

Yes, we have a new social network and I am a proud profile carrying member of the new elite created by an artificial scarcity of invites. A technique now pretty much a requirement for launching anything new that's social with 2 benefits, the obvious buzz factor and the ability to iterate and learn before you expand.
But this post is about history of civilizations on the internet.  While Google Plus is launched, MySpace was sold in last few days for a puny $30M and Friendster for $100M. Not to mention the once acclaimed AOL that was spun out of Time Warner in last few years. A $100B+ write down?
So why do social networks keep dying?


I think the answer lies in history of cities, and entropy of private information. Allow me to explain:
1. History of Cities: Social networks are like cities. They are born when small villages (Facebook at Harvard) expand due to a whole host of factors ranging from better cleaner layout, availability of resources (upload your pictures), ability to mingle with new kinds of people (dating & business relationships), etc. While all this is somewhat obvious - these social network cities need to be viral to expand. Read More