Is Traditional Social Networking Doomed?
Posted by Nick O'Neill on September 28th, 2007 4:30 PMYesterday Fortune published “Are we already moving on from traditional social networking?” Much of what was discussed was Netvibes and how they are struggling with monetization solutions for widgets. What grabbed my attention was the article title. My response to the question: are we moving on from traditional social networking? Yes! Is social networking doomed? No.
There used to be a battle between social networks to simply build their user base. Since then the battlegrounds have changed locations. The new battle is between the top tier social networks (and Google) who are now attempting to own the social backbone of each individual. We all have unique interests and as such we will browse the web for information we are interested in. Rather than just interacting with the website we are going to start interacting with both strangers and friends that are viewing the site.
This is already beginning to happen with the Facebook. The best applications provide social interaction with your friends. Once Google launches their platform, I have a feeling that we are going to see this social platform brought to the web. You browse the web but you are interconnected via an abstracted layer that keeps you interconnected with your contacts. The main goal of all these features is to make web browsing an increasingly shared experience. Out of curiosity, do you feel lonely browsing websites without your friends or do you prefer surfing solo?
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My friends exist in open and closed spaces, some more often than not out of a need to hide their interests and their fetish values. We, verb have been "outed".
Our employers and community demand it of us.
- | Rather than just interacting with the website we are going to start interacting with both strangers and friends that are viewing the site. | -
This comment astounds me. We are and we have for more than a decade. Are you trying to influence others to believe that Facebook and any other application holds or makes this possible ? If anything it's narrowed interaction and learning via networked connectivity.
- | My response to the question: are we moving on from traditional social networking? Yes! Is social networking doomed? No. | -
My response to your answer: YOU are moving away from social networking and eliminating brilliant writers who are enabling the democracy of the web. Social networking is doomed if YOU Rick refuse to broaden your perspectives, include open-to-web aps. whilst YOU retain and build platforms that re-perpetuate the malpractice of courting arid bling-bling in a walled garden.
WE are doomed if you continue to speak of applications and monetization of human interaction in rows along one rolling wave......foam spitting and sharks circling ready for those falling off.
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