Social Networking - A Fad! Would It Survive?

By Smita Sharma

Social networks, online communities, web 2.0, 3.0, social applications, walls, web applications, online games, video sharing portals, rich media, digital lifestyles et cetra have one common cord that gets them humming, when plucked slightly. Call it the power to Communicate or the freedom of Expression, or more precisely, Personal expression and better management but this is the essence of their origin and ultimately, this is what keeps them abuzz and going strong.

For the last couple of years, social networks and online communities have been mushrooming, in every piece of the globe. The advent of Internet 1.0 combined with web 2.0 and 3.0 though, has made communications quicker, better and more manageable across personal tastes & disliking, age and lifestyles, regions, languages, cultures, sub-continents and geographies. With so many social networks cropping in, it is getting harder for users to tell where they fit the best, or restricting choices to the Best Catch, Best Hit or an Intelligent Miss. What needs to be answered is how often these users switch or consider moving to the newbie's. What mix could help them best consolidate, their online social portfolio? Just when you think, the search for the perfect online space has ended; a new network comes into picture with tools and applications, you never thought of and appear too cool, to indulge in. That's their catch, on social trends!

In spite of so many utilities, networking spaces and social platforms invading the web, some thought leaders see Social Networking as a fading phenomenon and predict, It's not forever. It has reached its tipping point and as the time progresses, it would eventually die out. And may be a new & even bigger web phenomenon would emerge and take over.

Commenting on if this could happen is not at all relevant, if we go by the definition of product life cycle and related theories, by management gurus. The pertinent question is no longer would it or would it not? Rather, how soon could it happen and if it would ever replace social networking completely or just branch as an offshoot, or parallel web utility? To seek answers to such questions, a quick and random research on some social networking sites could help.

A closer look at websites that have recently come into existence offers a few pointers on what could be the fate on Social Networking over the next 4-5 years?

Wine.com: As the name suggests, this website is dedicated to wine lovers. The site does not require you to be a sommelier to join its wine community. And you have a multitude of activities to choose from what you wish to do here. As a member, you can add 'wine reviews', answer questions on wine (from fellow community members), write and share a blog entry, make posts on forums, ask questions if you need a review or seek suggestions while making a purchase. Members can even create and organize their wine lists and publish and share their wine lists with other members. Additionally, using their shopping carts orders can be placed online and users are free to share their experiences through related images or videos of a recent winery tour. Does it sound interesting to you? Well, it definitely does to me, for I love tasting wine, from different vineyards.

City Centre Community: Now, what do you have to say to this? This electronic retail giant has its own reasons for plunging into community building. Of course, they see it a great way to connect with their shoppers and consumers and look for real-time feedback. The forums are quite active and their customer service experts don't leave space for a speck, with timely responses and very low turnaround times. Moreover, regular community features like videos, tags and photo galleries jazz up the community interface, while felicitating direct communication with consumers.

Sonico: A Spanish language, social networking site that recently launched its Portuguese version, is another social network that has nothing remarkable yet 8 million registered users and within a span of only 7 months. You have something to say on that? There are just those usual message boards, user profiles and school and workplace based networks. However, it's interesting to note how they have merged different online portfolios into one central online social networking site.

Virb: Yet another social network that targets people who have vested interests in art, music, fashion and likes. Beautifully designed with well integrated iTunes and a little bit of everything, they say 'Do good to look good'. Ain't that catchy?

FatDoor: FatDoor is also there to help you know your neighbors on a very local level. It displays information over a Microsoft Virtual Earth map that can switch between 2D and 3D views. Another cool idea, you won't like to miss on!

If these still don't answer the question on sustenance & future of social networks, take a look at still other ideas like Enemybook and Snubster. They offer a new angle to social networks that talk about 'anti-social elements' like hatred, betrayals, enemies and more. There has to be no question on the concept of social networks and their future. What could differ and evolve overtime might be their convergence with the social set up or their divergence into personal life-style spaces. Or even, micro, niche networks gaining on popularity as opposed to the macro and dispersed global networks, of today. Would they lead to segregation, better organization and effective management of personal expressions or else dilute to bare backbones of simply aggregating social connections? The questions should no longer be confined to longevity. The social networks would need to look for differentiation through innovative ideas, which could add value and boost dependence on them, with specific focus on the ways to communicate on page and off page.

"And, with intensifying market competition, the survival of the fittest would hold true, as it always does".

Smita S. is a web 2.0 enthusiast and a social networking fan, with obvious presence on social networking sites like Infodoro.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Orkut, MySpace, Friendster, Hi5 and many more. If you think, social networks are cool and a great place to be, check out 'Infodoro' and enjoy the buzz around its active forums flooding with recent and diverse topics, issues, cool images, a blend of video sharing sites, and a great hint of free and social web applications that let you manage your time, daily chores and even personal thoughts and expressions, more efficiently.

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