"The guy who invented the wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius." That's what the American comic Sid Ceasar said and it occurs to me that it's an interesting way to describe a product strategy.
My previous post stating that "Xanga has a history of launching stuff that has already proven popular" is true but it wasn't a dig. Online safety, community, scaling, process, performance—these are some of the areas in which Xanga excels.
Xanga clearly adds value, this is evident by millions of happy users. My opinion is that the smart folks over at Xanga tend to focus their innovation cycles less on original category-leading products and more on performance and big picture. They have more in common with Google in this regard than they do with the social networks you might consider their rivals.
In other words, while Silicon Valley startups aim to "change the game" by building a wheel, the folks at Xanga are putting a fresh coat of turtle wax on their sleek hybrid sports car. Go have a look and see what I mean. Disclosure: I am a proud shareholder.