Facebook's Entry into People Search Disrupts Existing Market Players

Facebook Enters the People Search Arena, Shaking Up the Competitive Landscape

This article from TechCrunch, dated September 5, 2007, discusses Facebook's entry into the people search market and its potential impact on existing players. The author, Michael Arrington, highlights how Facebook's new public search functionality, which allows users without Facebook accounts to search for individuals on the platform, introduces a significant competitive threat.

The Evolving People Search Market

The people search landscape was already becoming crowded with new services emerging to aggregate information from various online sources. Arrington mentions several such services that were gaining traction at the time, including:

• Spock
• Wink
• Zoominfo
• WikiYou
• PeekYou

These services thrived on the premise that personal information was fragmented across the web. By consolidating this data, they aimed to provide comprehensive profiles of individuals.

Facebook's Disruptive Entry

Facebook's decision to allow public searches, even with limited information (name and primary photograph), directly challenged the business model of these people search engines. Arrington posits that if these startups were publicly traded companies, their market valuations would likely decrease due to this new competition. The ability of users to control their privacy settings and prevent search engines from indexing their information is also noted as a factor.

Impact on Existing People Search Engines

The article suggests that as large platforms like Facebook (and others like LinkedIn) centralize and make more user information accessible, the need for independent people search engines diminishes. This consolidation of data could make it harder for smaller, specialized services to compete.

Key Takeaways:

• Facebook's Competitive Threat: Facebook's public search feature poses a significant challenge to existing people search engines.
• Data Centralization: Large social platforms centralizing user data can disrupt niche markets.
• Privacy Controls: User privacy settings play a crucial role in how information is accessed and indexed.
• Market Impact: The entry of major players can devalue smaller competitors in the people search space.

Image Analysis

The article includes an image of Facebook search results, illustrating the type of information made available through the new feature. This visual element helps readers understand the direct impact of Facebook's move on the people search landscape.

Author and Context

Michael Arrington, the author, was a prominent figure in tech journalism at the time, known for his insights into startups and venture capital. His analysis reflects the dynamic and rapidly evolving nature of the internet and social media in the mid-2000s.

Related Topics and Companies

The article touches upon several key companies and topics relevant to the internet and social media industry at the time:

• Facebook: The social networking giant at the center of the discussion.
• People Search Engines: Spock, Wink, Zoominfo, WikiYou, PeekYou.
• Venture Capital and Startups: The article implicitly discusses the impact on startup valuations and market competition.

This analysis provides a snapshot of the competitive dynamics in the online information and social networking space in 2007, highlighting how platform-level changes could significantly alter the market for specialized services.