Networks

With the recent emergence of a whole raft of online portals aimed at bringing together people online, it is interesting to note what empowers a network. Communication is the great motivator and has been used to great affect in networks where people get to see what their friends are up to, and in turn what their friends friends are up to. This is how a network naturally evolves and some good examples of this are Twitter and Upcoming. I am careful to praise some of the networks that create noise rather than true communications (such as Facebook) as they end up becoming a framework for distraction, perhaps not a bad thing but not necessarily a good either. Some networks such as Bebo have a greater understanding of their audience and now see themselves as a delivery channel as well as a framework for a social network. One of the problems with some social networks is their lack of simply separating personal and professional activities. This shouldnt be underestimated in importance as the networks that focus are more likely to succeed on the long run and acquire and retain their user base. A question for the future of social networks will be how personalisation works for or against a good user experience.

Communication

Before social networks became the in thing, the email contacts list and mobile phone were the tools of choice where people kept a list of contacts and communicated. Mobile phones until recently have provided mainly peer-to-peer features such as voice and text, however this is a changing landscape with social networks providing mobile messaging services. Instant Messengers provided a rich conversational tool where not only text/voice was available but now video and the ability to share content and a collaborative environment. I believe the future lies in a richer form of messaging and video communications. Out will go the SMS (eventually), the much over-rated email and traditional voice services, and in will come more group friendly tools whether the users are at home or on the move. I recently heard somebody say that email was the killer application for mobiles, I believe the opposite that it is a killer of mobiles due to its complexity and misuse (large legal disclaimers, long reply trees, signatures on each post etc...). Social networks can now bring context, trust and a greater sense of identity where your contact list is a more colourful picture of either your personal or professional contacts.

Sharing

With the rise of sharing sites for photos, videos, podcasts and other content, the social network becomes more complete. It is in human nature to be curious, at first it may be browsing some content, however this leads into other experiences and communcations. Getting to know people online these days means something different that it did 10 years ago as it is possible to find out so much about other people, unless of course they are canny and keep their personal and online worlds apart. Sharing in the last 10 years has scared the whole commercial content world regards copyright and ownership of material. Oddly enough many of the popular sharing sites most requested content is typically produced by commercial establishments, therefore the big test now is how they understand the whole change in their environment and how to work with it instead of trying to stop it happending.