tartle - 6:12 pm on Apr 11, 2006 (gmt 0)

Hey guys, thanks for the positive affirmations and various corrections. I don’t think you have to be first either. But it helps to be first to build the Moat (I love that analogy)

Friendster was first to get into the social networking for twenty and thirty somethings who liked to party. LinkedIn was the first to target corporate types. MySpace happened to be very successful with teens which is why they have such a rabid user group. All three are separate and defensible market segments.

Although it is far before my time, I suspect McDonald’s kept market leadership over Wendy’s because it was the first to not only create that Moat by targeting the younger crowd with playgrounds, but was quick to adapt to changing technology such as drive through speakers.

In the internet world, the moat also involves thinking of a domain name that is easy to spell and easy to remember and gets significant publication. I find this is no longer easy with the current rampant domain name speculation and advanced SEO techniques.