[mayniac]

You can set up a phpBB instance on a shared hosting provider for <$10/month. Interact with anyone who wants to interact with you. Don't even really need any technical knowlege, just a credit card.

People do it all the time, but they keep themselves to themselves and you don't find out about it.

[throwawaysea]

Social networks are immune to competition because of network effects. Once their network is established as the first mover, a subsequent newcomer will always have a worse product because of the smaller networks be therefore can’t challenge the incumbent.

Where we have seen successful upstarts in social media is when they have a different product. So Tik Tok can enter this space. But a Twitter clone or Facebook clone will have a hard time.

The technology isn’t the blocker. It’s that the nature of the social media product works differently, and the lack of competition is inherent to such a product.

[amanaplanacanal]

That’s why MySpace is still so huge.