Social Media Sites Of The Future
August 31, 2008
If we could fast forward to social media sites of the future, I wonder what we’d see? And what impact will they have on the world in general?
I don’t doubt the fact that social media is here to stay. After all, it seems that almost everyone is using Twitter, Stumbling, Digging and connecting on Facebook, Bebo or LinkedIn. And because folk need to encourage others to join, for the benefit of the network - many social media sites become viral and grow at a rapid rate.
Bebo was targeted primarily at kids - mostly from the UK. Yet only 3 years after it’s launch, it was sold to AOL for over $800 million. LinkedIn has over 8 million members and Facebook is the biggest and fastest growing of all social media sites with over 132 million members.
I think we’re only catching a glimpse of the full potential of social media right now. And I guess anyone who can see five years into the future, could make themselves a fortune. But lets have a bit of fun. What will social media look like five years down the line?
I’m guessing that as well as some of the large sites we’re seeing now, there will be many smaller niche groups and like minded folk will use them to connect and share ideas. Also, I wonder if we’ll see more life like interaction in the future. A bit like they have on sites such as Runescape, but less cartoon like, with more realistic representations of ourselves.
Where do you see social media sites going in the future? And more importantly - what would you like to see?
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I am a keen participant on quite a few social media and social networking sites, Cath- some more so than others.
Gradually, I hope to explore a range of the major sites.
I agree with your views that these sites will increasing become more specialised.
By doing so, the communities will be able to focus on developing ever more targetted information and networking opportunities for their members.
In the same way that positioning a blog within a niche helps its chances of success, I think that increasingly people will search for niche social media sites to address their needs.
If forward-thinking social media gurus identify relevant trends and create appropriate niche communities, the members will be attracted to them and will grow these communities organically from within.
Whatever happens, I feel that these are definitely exciting and challenging times for new media participants.
I think we’re waiting for 2 things:
1) Broadband speeds and costs on mobiles to be really cheap
2) Simple, phone-friendly versions of these social media to become available (more - because they are now) on mobiles
Then there’s proximity. Because the phone knows where you are at a given moment in time. I can;t even begin to speculate on what this will all mean.
Except that there will be change.
Speech recognition is due a leap forward. So you could even publish your blog posts via your mobile phone, without typing. And before you scoff, applications which show you the article before it’s published so you can correct - again, by correcting the text with speech, will make the way we enter data via a keyboard and mouse change.
Of course, not everyone will buy in. And everyone will have their preferred methods of engaging.
But social media is here to say. It’s the TV of this century.
Can you imagine applications that bring all the various platforms together? Facebook/Linkedin/Stumble etc?
And imagine you’ve just finished work, and you fancy a quick pint. Rather than ring everyone, you can just check your phone and see who is in a “sociable mood” which their social media favourite allows them to update.
And then, it would filter it by who is close by.
All of these things are either possible are already in situ in one form or another.
Imagine single people updating their Facebook profile, setting it to “on the lookout”, and then going out on the town.
People who set their profile the same, which talks to their mobile, will be able to “bleep” people for instant blind dates.
And imagine the same thing applied to business networking? Changing your LinkedIn profile for example prior to an event so you only “bleep” with compatible people and vice versa.
This sort of stuff will happen…
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Turning Enquiries Into Sales
Hi Ian - these are some amazing ideas. Voice recognition would be a huge plus wouldn’t it? Especially if you’re posting to a site from your phone.
And I love the point you made about your phone knowing where you are. As you said, that gives folk the chance to really connect in real life too.
The possibilities really are endless aren’t they? And I know a lot of folk are addicted to using social media - but if it connects folk in the real world, it may actually be more healthy, than the tv couch potato syndrome.
Hi Scott - Am totally sick of Askimet eating you. Maybe it has it in for folk who are blogging without a blog.
It’s exciting stuff isn’t it.? I love your idea on social media gurus attracting folk to niche sites - that’s definitely a huge possibility isn’t it?
Like you, I’m trying to familiarize myself with some of the major sites. But since I began to understand Twitter, it’s become really addictive.
I must admit I haven’t quite got the addiction yet. Perhaps it’s for younger folk! I have dipped into and out of Facebook, LinkedIn, Stumble, MySpace.
I do separate business and personal though. And I’ve not quite got into them for personal. Perhaps it’s age. if I was younger, I may be more interested in meeting more people online.
Most of my friends/family etc don;t bother with it all yet. Although i can see more happening with those I know on Facebook than anywhere else. And I can see that perhaps breaking my resolve, and having me engage more - mainly because others I know personally are - and more local too.
The others are more international. And I love “meeting” new people internationally, but as soon as social media becomes more local - so you are conversing with people you know in your area - I suspect it will take off even faster.
I can see TV in decline and social media replacing alot of time people use to spend in front of the box.
Ian Denny’s last blog post..Turning Enquiries Into Sales
It seems Akismet doesn’t like what I say
The only thing I don’t put into the comment box is a website… but I don’t put that anywhere.
Not to worry, Cath- I will take on Akismet!
Hi Ian - so you think people might prefer to network with folk in their area? I guess I can understand that, if they want to hook up with folk after work etc, as you mentioned.
And also, if your business covers a local area, I could see why local area networks would be important.
It’s funny - I imagined social networking would lead to alot more people spending more time in doors. But, if it goes local, as you mentioned - more people could be getting out and about instead of watching TV. That would be interesting.
Hi Scott - I know, it’s not like you even link to anything. I was thinking about that actually. Because you haven’t built your own blog yet, maybe it would be worth linking to the guest posts you’ve done for Liz. I don’t think she’d mind.
I’m with Ian, I like meeting people on an International level. I like discovering different viewpoints and ideas. I start to feel very cloistered in the US at times.
Cath, I’m just not a visionary when it comes to envisioning the future of social media. I just don’t know. I think some of the above answers are interesting.
I do participate in Digg, Stumble Upon, and Twitter, and that’s it. I try to help promote people generally be useful. But sometimes I just like to get on Twitter and talk.
Ellen Wilson’s last blog post..The Disappearing Barns of the Midwest
Hi Ellen - it’s good to connect with people from all over the globe isn’t it? There’s so many ideas to share.
I’ve only really started using Twitter much - but like you, I find it nice just to get on there and talk.
Hi Cath.
I’m with Ellen–I’m not a visionary when it comes to social media in the future. I am really intrigued about Ian’s idea of being able to post your blog through speech dictation on a mobile phone.
Would be cool too if your favourite blogs could be listened to through headphones. Imagine that! Blogging on the run.
Or maybe there could be a blog radio or something where blogs are publicly transmitted. Ok, I’m getting nuts now
I’m just getting established on LinkedIn and find it amazing that with only 14 direct connections so far, I have indirect connections to almost 50,000! Wowee.
Davina’s last blog post..Swinging Full Circle?That’s Life
I think you’re right about the niche sites. One of my clients is a social networking/elearning site specifically about organizing the home/your life. Everyone in the tech industry tells them they are at the front edge of a wave of this sort of thing with other similar sites to start popping up everywhere - mixing paid subscriptions with social media and multimedia content.
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..Insecure People are Self-Absorbed and Egotistical
HI Catherine,
Social media sites of the future will undoubtedly be different than they are now. What I would like to see is some way I could participate without having to spend so much times doing so. I notice when I’m on StumbleUpon, Digg or a few of the others, I’m spending so much time reading and/or reviewing posts, it takes me away from that which I truly enjoy which is blogging and building community.
It would also be great if there was one central location where we could do it all without having to join multiple social media sites. Just learning each one is extremely time consuming plus you have to build your following on each one, over and over. Sounds like a lot of duplication going on.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Plugins, Questions and Open Mic
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I would actually like to see more niche sites, particularly with built-in forums. Come to think of it, such sites will probably replace forums someday. First, they’ll have to become widely available and customizable for regular people (like WordPress). I have to admit, it took me awhile to warm up to Facebook but lately, I’m finally getting into it.
Melissa Donovan’s last blog post..September News & Announcements
@Melissa
I’m with you - I think a merger of blog and forum apps would be interesting. I know that right now some people use threaded comments, but it hasn’t caught on yet.
How about an advance on blog networks/related posts/Stumbling-Digging? If those merged you could get a whole series of niche sites that bring content from all over into a single spot and people could access the posts, and talk about them all at once. It could be an interesting revenue stream for someone - either having the bloggers pay to get included or the users to pay as a subscription…
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..Connecting Desires with Actions: James Chartrand Interview
Hi Davina - I don’t know - I think your Blog radio is a pretty good idea. A lot of folk would rather listen than read.
Hi Alex - hope the sunburn is healing. It’s interesting that your friend is already setting up a niche social networking site. Is it live yet? Do you have the URL? I would be interested in looking to see how itworks.
Hi Barbara - that’s a huge problem isn’t it? I think a lot of the trouble is that a focus of many of those sites seems to be on promotion of self and others, as opposed to actual networking. I think you’d like Twitter once you got the hang of it. It’s more about talking to folk.
Hi Melissa - niche sites that replaced forums sound like a great idea. There’s so many forums on different topics that I can really see that working.
Hi again Alex - I would love to see all those things merged in some way. I love the conversational aspect of blogging but I’m still not loving the format. It’s just not that conversation friendly because of the layout of the thread.
@Cath
Of course - silly me! The site is http://www.organizingconnection.com - they beta launched it this summer and are going for the formal launch this month. They already have a very popular blogger bringing in traffic - the Minimalist Mommy.
Alex Fayle’s last blog post..Connecting Desires with Actions: James Chartrand Interview
I have to agree with some of the sentiments here… blog networks are great, but the next wave of blog networks need to make it less time consuming to participate!
Al at 7P’s last blog post..The Criminally-Minded Approach for Achieving Goals
I think that social networking probably has the greatest chance for longevity because the connections it creates are becoming increasingly valuable in the modern economy. I also think that niche sites will become more plentiful and stronger.
I’m not so sure about social bookmarking and social news. If we ever move past the world of CPM advertising, or CPC for that matter, some of the motivation for social news is going to disappear. It also lacks some substance. I’ve been involved with sites like Digg, Reddit, Mixx, etc. for over a year now and the quality on some of those sites continues to decline. I am a bit partial to Mixx, however.
Blogging, I think, will remain in some form for a long, long, long time.
Mark Dykeman’s last blog post..Social media magicians give away their best tricks
Hi Mark - I’m guessing we’ll see a lot more niche sites too.
Out of the social bookmarking ones you mention - I’ve only tried Digg & I wasn’t too keen. I might give Mixx a look.
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