Facebook has two very big pieces of news that they announced today at TechCrunch50
. The first: They have crossed 300 million users worldwide now, extending their lead as the biggest social network. The second: They are now cash flow positive. Yes, from this point forward, Facebook is making money.
Local media companies take note. Here are three items that will make or break sites in local markets:
1. Community is essential to building your presence online. Simply delivering the news won’t cut it anymore.
2. That community must be built in tandem with data on who’s in the community.
3. Interoperability with social networking platforms is a must, from OpenID and Google Friend Connect, to Facebook Connect and Twitter OAuth. No matter how feature rich and totally awesome your product is, if the barriers to entry are too high, no one will care. MAKE EVERYTHING EASY.
