The triumph of hope over experience

A vast audience that cannot be tapped.

That's the conclusion of John Naughton writing in yesterday's Observer.He is referring to the achievement of Facebook in getting 350 million registered users and the problem of creating a business model out of it

The truth is that investing in social networking represents the triumph of hope over experience. The optimism comes from a feeling that it's impossible to gather, say, 350 million people in one place and not somehow make money. In the real world, one would charge them admission and sell them hot dogs and overpriced T-shirts. But that doesn't work in cyberspace. If Facebook started to charge for membership, its population would dwindle to the number of people who think that its services are worth paying for – probably not that many.