ABSTRACT
No. Such a study would have limited utility and would cease to be topical the minute a new social network eclipsed Facebook, as will undoubtedly happen … eventually. (Google+, perhaps?) Moreover, as many companies and investors are discovering the hard way, it is extremely difficult to succeed as a “fast-follower” in a space that already moves with a speed and agility that would make a falcon jealous, in an industry that seems to reinvent the “core experiences” it offers to the user every nine months. An intimate dissection of Farmville , Vampire Wars (already moribund, if the statistics are to be believed), and CityVille might remain current for the next year or two, but little more, and it would be extremely difficult for the lessons learned in such a narrow study to help guide the reader's steps over the next decade.
