I was reading the paper today and found an interesting story about a Russian investment firm that put some major capital into Facebook. The deal estimated Facebook’s current value at 10 billion, which got me to thinking about how the internet is, in many ways, a house of cards.

Facebook may very well be worth 10 billion, but that could change very quickly - and probably will over the next few years. Like Myspace, Friendster, YouTube and Digg, social media and social networking venues such as Facebook are staring down several long-term hurdles that could eventually crumble them. Examining some of the most popular sites of the recent past gives us a bit of warning as to what might happen to Facebook, and to its apparent replacement in waiting, Twitter.

Digg - Digg has been overrun by SEO’s and their networks. I’d like to tell you that’s the fault of SEO’s (because they have plenty to be faulted for), but it’s actually Google’s problem. Google decided sometime in ‘06 - ‘07 that they were going to go Web 2.0 and basically removed all link generating power from article submissions sites, directories and any other method that didn’t involve popularity. Now Digg is a joke that suffers from “Sphinn Syndrome”. Every article is “Top 5″ this or “3 Reasons Why…” that. SEO’s and online marketing “gurus” are manipulating content and using their cultivated Digg networks to generate interest for their clients just as they do for themselves on Sphinn. By the way, I’m not suprised this has happened on Digg. I am suprised SEO’s keep sucking each other’s dicks on Danny Sullivan’s Sphinn. When almost every story is blatantly manufactured to get “Sphinns” and has so little actual informational value, it makes me wonder how these guys (and girls) manage to look at themselves in the mirror each day.

Myspace - “What’s that? You have your own Myspace page? Guess what? No one cares anymore! You’d better hurry or you’ll miss the last train back to 2005.”

Ok, so I’ve exaggerated a bit. Myspace was always a good idea and still has a sizeable following, and it’s probably one of the few social networking venues mentioned in this blog post that has a snowball’s chance in hell of generating ad revenue. Still, it shares the same susceptibilities that Facebook and other somewhat similar sites do. They are all prone to eventual public backlash and/or public disinterest. Look at Twitter as the ultimate example. This is one high flying flag that’ll be a punchline in the next few years. I tweeted for a while, then one day I just stopped. I stopped because I lost interest. I had a regular cast of relatively entertaining people to tweet back and forth to, but it wasn’t enough to make me feel obligated to keep up with it. One day I stopped twittering and that day turned into weeks, then months and on I go. It wasn’t a conscious decision to stop…I just got bored with it.

Myspace is similar, but without all the attempted B2C that results in way too much B2B that Twitter suffers from. On a personal level, the difference between Myspace and Twitter is that while Twitter says, “You must care what I’m doing”, Myspace says, “You must care for me, my lifestyle, my friends, my music and my interests, too”. As it turns out, not only do we not care, eventually you won’t either. You’ll lose interest in updating that page just as I lost interest in tweeting. Then what? Where is the value in a page that hasn’t been updated in months or years?

YouTube - Youtube is Google’s baby now, and I applaud the former owners for getting top dollar for that fantastic money pit from Big-G. Google quickly learned that you can’t monetize YouTube very well, but how this escaped them up until the purchase is beyond me. Monetizing YouTube is like trying to monetize free internet porn. There’s enough interesting material on the page to keep people from giving two shits about the ads. Part of this is due to the fact that most people on YouTube are there to watch a video. They’re not interested in what you’re selling. The other part of it, for those few who do pay attention to the ads, is the fact that the most advanced search engine in the world will apply kazillions of filters to its ranking algorithm but won’t do any serious work on it’s ad generating algorithm. Let me give you an example:

The other day I’m home watching TV, flipping through the channels. “Deuce Bigalow” is the only thing on so I watch for a while as I eat a sandwich. The 10 or so minutes I watch of this movie features the song “Magnet and Steel”, which is by Walter Egan (though I didn’t know that at the time). I look up the song name and, appropriately, Google has it’s YouTube video ranking in the top 5. I click to hear the full song and see who sings it. All good, except up at the top corner of the page is an advertisement for a company that sells magnets. “Gee, thanks Google! Right on topic as usual.”

Facebook - So what will happen to Facebook? I have no idea, but I know Twitter has taken some steam away from it and perhaps in a year or two, another site will find some other gimmicky way to do so as well. The point is, I don’t think Facebook has generated $10 in actual revenue, much less 10 million, and I think those who are waiting on it to be monetized and thinking their investments will pay off are going to be thinking tax write-off in short order. Think of monetizing a social network site in PPC terms. There’s a reason why Adwords sponsored search often works whereas content network is just as often a collosal waste of money. People know where to look when they want to buy something, and it isn’t on websites. It’s on major search engines.

For websites who have built their structure on everlasting public interest and the hope of eventual high dollar monetization, there’s nothing but bad weather in the forecast.

Well, I’m finally home. Had a great time - met some interesting and friendly people and made a few new friends. Overall, a great trip.

Now I will sleep on my own bed, sit on my own toilet and eat food cooked in my own kitchen. Travel is indeed the spice of life, but there’s something to be said for comfort and familiarity as well.

After a rest, I think I’ll go down to the beach with the iPod and watch the waves for a while. Life is good, and it’s only just begun.

Well, here I am in the “Queen City of the South”, Cebu. It’s a dirty city with a shopping mall, odd downtown section and more panhandlers than NYC in the 1970’s. They’re harmless, but annoying as the day is long.

Just outside of the city are resorts where you can pay a daily fee to swim, rent a jet-ski, snorkel, etc… I’ve been going to these almost every day and frankly, I wish I had stayed at one instead of in the hotel I’m at.

The “ladies of the night” are pretty prevalent here, too. Not for me, lest you think I’m one of “those types of guys”, but I’m just pointing out that they aren’t hard to spot.

Overall, I like the relaxed atmosphere here, but like Manilla, I sure wouldn’t want to live here. Then again, I live in Cancun, so I guess the beach and other reasons why people might enjoy being here are a little lost on me. Still, this has been an interesting trip.

I have to admit, though…I’m looking forward to getting back home soon.

Manilla is HOT!!!!!! Subtropic hot. Living in a giant armpit hot.

I arrived this morning and after checking in, I had a quick tour of some of the city nearby where I’m staying. This afternoon I relaxed by the pool and tonight, I’ve taken it easy to try and recoup from the flight.

Being here is fantiastic. It’s a crowded city with a great deal of poverty, but the people are fantastic. The food sucks, but hey…you can’t have it all.

Here, they have a fast food chain known as JollyBee, which to my approximation, is a bit like a A&W. You can get a hot dog, fries, hamburger or for breakfast, corned beef and eggs. No, not corned beef hash…actual corned beef. I know…the things that amuse me sometimes.

I’d love to get a few restaurant recommendations from anyone who has travelled here and happens to see this post within the next few days. No really, PLEASE!

Ok, enough about the food. Philippino girls are beautiful, and I don’t mean that in the typical sleazy westerner way. I just mean they’re so vibrant and almost everyone here wears a smile.

I converted Mexican Pesos to Philippino Pesos and the exchange rate is roughly 3.5 PHP for every 1 MXN. That’s fantastic. Finally I go somewhere and get more of another country’s currency. If, like me, you live in Mexico, you know very well that this doesn’t happen too often.

Just about everyone here speaks English, so getting around is easy. My hotel is clean and well situated for sightseeing and other activites, plus taxis are ridiculously cheap here. There’s no internet connection in my room, so the laptop is pretty much wasted, but there’s an internet cafe in the hotel lobby.

Overall, I’m having fun so far and surviving the heat.

On to Cebu City in a few days.

I have a bad habit of vacationing in areas that look a lot like home. I almost always choose the Caribbean because it’s close to Cozumel and I like to dive wherever I go (if possible). This year, I decided to go to Southeast Asia as I’ve never been and want to experience something new. En route, I’ve stopped in Kauai, Hawaii to stay with a friend that owns a fractional property and invited me to spend a few days.

This is the development where his fractional is: http://www.anolanikauai.com

So, now I know how the other half lives… This place is nothing short of amazing and I’m having serious thoughts about what kind of letdown the rest of my trip might be after experiencing paradise. Oh well. It’ll be fun regardless, but probably not this beautiful.

In two days, I’m off to Tokyo for a small layover en route to Manilla, Philippines. I’m approaching it with a mix of anticipation and dread. Anticipation for seeing a new place but dread of how hot I know it’s going to be.

Anyone else have any Philippines experiences to clue me in on? How’s the food down there? Things to be sure to see and do? Things to avoid? Any eco-tourism opportunities? I did a little research but nothing comprehensive. I’ll be in Manilla for a few days before moving on to Cebu City. Any advice is appreciated.

Boxing - By all accounts, Saturday’s boxing was a success here in Cozumel. Undefeated Puerto Rican featherwight Juan Manuel “JuanMa” Lopez knocked out former world champion Gerry Penalosa. Penalosa moved up a weight class to take the fight and was outsized from the beginning, but still stayed active while taking brutal punishment until his manager threw in the towel before the start of the 10th round.

Elvis - Carnival and Elvis Presley’s Estate (or the people who bought the rights to it) are once again teaming up to offer an Elvis cruise from Tampa, FL to Cozumel. The “Blue Suede Cruisin’” for this year will be November 12th-16th and feature lots of insignificant people from Elvis’ life, like his photographer, washed up co-stars of his not-terribly-popular movies and other people you’ve never heard of trying to further cash in on the King’s fame. In the grand ballroom of the ship will be a clear glass toilet-shaped tank filled with embalming fluid and containing Elvis’ last known gift to his fans - the Elvis death turd. Ok, fine…I made that last part up.

Swine Flu - Swine flu has everyone scared, myself included. What I’m even more afraid of, however, are people who ask retarded questions like, “should I stop eating bacon?”. In a way, it might be good for these people to actually get swine flu, die, and thereby save the rest of us from their stupidity. Swine flu isn’t mad cow disease, you knuckleheads!

So after writing the last post and not checking the blog for a few days, I return to find a load of spam from those trying to sell little blue pills and one travel guide site that left some cheesy, kiss-ass sort of compliment that had nothing to do with the site or post in question.

Of course, I know the great majority of these are bots, but still…

Anyway, I might decide to disable comments. I had hoped to be able to provide links to relevant, similar sites or sites my audience might find interesting through the comment field (while passing PR too), but I’m tired of cleaning out 50 spammy comments at a time. Anyone out there have a solution for this? Is there a widget that works for weeding out spam?

Hate it! Despise it! Is there anything worse?

I understand that people want to attract attention to their sites, build links, etc. What I can’t understand is who still thinks this is an effective form of linkbuilding or a viable use of their time. The automated comments are ridiculous, and I can’t imagine someone with a web property they care about ever approving this stuff. Some contain 10 links per comment.

What’s almost worse, however, are the human generated ones where they try to be on topic to the page but can’t really add anything but an advertisement because they were too lazy to stop and read the blog post they’re commenting on, They rely on knowing just enough from the keywords that brought them to the blog post.

Seriously, in the time it takes to search out other websites (most of which aren’t even related) and copy and paste that no-hearted effort of a post, you could probably go get a job and just buy some traffic. Think about it…if a site is willing to post your crappy, pointless comment without a no-follow attribute or robot.txt at the root of the directory where their files sit - that means they’ll post everyone else’s totally unrelated, Eastern European language advertisements for Viagra too.

Now, Einstein…what happens when a site has metric tons of outbound links to unrelated, poor quality sites?

That’s right, D-E-V-A-L-U-E-D. Say it with me, DEVALUED. Very Good!

In short, IF you can get away with what you are trying to get away with on a site, it will likely hurt your site in the long run much more than it will help your site right now. I don’t blame you for trying it on my site because I actually write my own content (imagine that…using a blog for what it was intended). Still, at least have the decency to add something to the discussion if you want a shot at getting your link published. And for goodness sakes, no porn, pills or gaming sites.

Don’t waste my time. If you want a link, ADD SOMETHING TO THE DISCUSSION and leave your URL in the “website” field only - where it belongs. Adding “Interesting”, or “I’ll buy a beer for the guy who sent me here” or “Keep up the great work” is not adding to the discussion. Responding to what’s written, whether positive, negative or indifferent - and then explaining why adds to the discussion.

I was reading an interesting article on the Somalia pirate plague that’s been in the news lately. It described in great detail how the pirates are capturing more and bigger ships, how they are living a wealthy lifestyle in Eyl (the pirate capital of Somalia) and how they are growing in number despite multiple military ships in the area.

This morning, I read that pirates just off the coast at Eyl took an aid ship bound for Kenya - an aid ship contracted to the US Maritime Security Program (DOT).

Let me first say that I hate war - any war. While I can understand the need for war in Afghanistan after what happened in the U.S. on September 11th, I still lament the innocent civilian casualties because of it. I think the Iraq war (Part Deux) that’s still in progress was completely unneccesary.

However, the piracy issue has to be dealt with. I hate to admit it, but I’d love to see U.S. troops go into Eyl and forcibly remove the pirate contingency. On one hand, I hate the U.S. way of bulldozing their way around the world, but on the other, I can’t see them dropping 3 million in the ocean like other governments have done in order to get their ships back. It’s not easy to patrol thousands of nautical miles, but it wouldn’t be difficult to move troops into Eyl after some prepatory carpet-bombing.

…As someone I admire once told me, there’s nothing worse than a thief. Pirates are simply thieves on boats.

I often check out the boats and small yachts for sale at some of the internets more well known used boat, ship and yacht sites. Most of the time (ok…all the time) the listings are for boats I could never dream of affording, but it’s always fun to look. This morning, while on a site called Yachting Brokers, there were a few interesting ads.

One listing was for a small island off Fiji, which would give the buyer a 99 year lease. The only caveat is that the island looked to be almost uninhabitable, but I suppose money can make almost anything happen. They didn’t post the price so I’m left wondering what 99 years of Fiji island rental will set you back.

The next interesting listing was for a turnkey gambling barge complete with slots and other accoutriments, selling for 8.5 million. The only thing I know from friends in the US is that riverboat gambling is allowed in some states where gambling is otherwise illegal, so my understanding is that it’s always docked at a river between two states and highly, highly popular in the areas that have it. This begs the question that I would assume any buyer might ask…why sell it?

Another odd listing was for a designer yacht in the mediterranean. When I clicked on the listing, it turned out there was no yacht - just someone from the mediterranean selling a designer’s plans for a massive grand yacht never before built. Great concept, but it makes me wonder if the designer had any experience designing ships, what was included with the schematic and how feasible the yacht would have been to produce. I’ve never seen anyone selling plans before on this or any related site, so it caught my interest.

Oh well, back to reality.