The title does sound a little like a bad sci fi channel original, or at least the title of a movie that showed up late night to be lampooned on Mystery Science Theater 3000 but it is a reality in the industry.  The social network provider space has grown crowded.  Too many players with far too little distinction between them.  Most of those are out of the box solutions that offer nothing more than a bolt-on community.

Our acquisition of Social Platform is certainly even more evidence of that.

Mark Hendrickson @ TechCrunch just wrote an article this morning on more consolidation in the space and Jeremiah Owyang's thoughts on the matter.   Consolidation is innevitable in such a crowded space.  I have a couple major dissagreements with Jeremiah's key points.

It is not the commoditization of the software that is driving the consolidation.  The technology involved in delivering an integrated community - one that provides a compelling and seamless experience for the user is complex and intricate.  It is not going to be something that can be provided as a bolt-on package and be expected to be successful.  It can not simply be a few changes to colors here and there - that does not and will not work.  That is what you get from a commoditized software package and it simply will not engage users.

Beyond the technology - the expertise involved in working collaboratively with a client to create a truly unique destination - can never be a commodity.  To create a community that will be successful, sustainable, and will actually engage and audience takes a lot of strategy and collaboration.  It takes a partnership between the company providing technology, and the company that can deliver content, an audience, and a compelling experience.  It has to fit as seamlessly strategically as it does for the users web experience.  It has to be completely integrated.  That sort of collaboration, the expertise needed to do that - that is something that can never come from a box.