Wait-- what I know about any of this is just the tip of the iceberg... and the waters are wide, deep, and cold.You can dive in for yourself, and here's one route in:
Their bi-monthly e-mail newsletter covers current business trends and happenings in online communities across the Web. It's always full of articles and links to more articles elsewhere. Of course they see things from their own vested view, but there is enough to get an initial orientation on the environment Max must deal with.
~Susan