Web 2.0 implosion begins; FB Connect signals end of two social networking startups

As FaceBook starts its marketing & PR for Connect, smaller social networking startups (whose ability to post and read across SN platforms was a main differentiator) are folding. FB is aggressively moving to control the social addressbook / social graph and the plunging economy will aid its efforts.

"Facebook Connect--the service launched last spring that lets members log on to other Web sites using their Facebook profile--appears to be entering a new phase. The New York Times, in a big-picture story Sunday about the social network's plans to extend its reach across the Web, notes that the Facebook Connect service is gearing up for expansion: In the next few weeks, a number of prominent Web sites will weave this service into their pages, including those of the Discovery Channel and The San Francisco Chronicle, the social news site Digg, the genealogy network Geni, and the online video hub Hulu"

The reaction:

Pownce closed, team members are going to blogging provider SixApart

TruTap, a UK mobile social networking aggregator, lays off 80% of staff while looking for exit