I read in the Wall Street Journal this morning that Google and Microsoft are in an epic battle for the hearts and minds (and ad dollars) of Facebook. Besides not knowing who to cheer for, my mind drifted to Geocities and Tripod (what ever happened to them?). Then in the “Money and Investing” section, Dennis K. Berman offers a cautionary tale based on the rise and fall of an earlier generation of community sites.

Did you know that only nine of the top 20 most trafficked sites on Aug 2003 are still on that list?

The author highlights the need for continual innovation to keep the community fresh and alive – sensible advice for prevent users from chasing the next interesting thing (I didn’t say fad) after graduating from high school or college.