Are social networks just a flash in the pan?

An interesting piece this week appears on The Atlantic implying that the growth of social networks have all the hallmarks of being a gold rush, reminiscent of the dot-com bubble.

In the article titled 'The Web 2.0 Bubble', Michael Hirshorn writes that:

In the Web hype-o-sphere, things matter hugely until, very suddenly, they don’t matter at all. Thanks to the unprecedented growth of MySpace and Facebook, “social media” matters hugely right now, but it is likely only another in a long string of putatively disruptive, massively hyped technologies that prove just one more step in the long march.

He's right in pointing out that social media has been around since the early days of the commercial web with sites like Geocities proving popular in building niche communities of like-minded users.

Suddenly, everyone 'needs' a social network to support their brand online. But do they really and how many of these will fall flat within months? Time will tell.

There are already social network floozies with more links and 'friends' than seems feasible. The article names the dubiously dubbed 'Tila Tequila' as the most popular with 1.5 million friends on MySpace

So, back in the business world, should we skip social networks and wait for the next bus to come along?Never have to wait long in Web 2.0 for the next fad.

I say no. Business social networks give most of us, not all of us, the chance to make the communities that already exist around our brands more efficient. They are perhaps unlikely to create community where none existed before. Human networks exist in lots of unusual places. Even accountants like to network, improbable as it sounds. So online social networks just allow this to happen quicker.

But as Michael Hirshorn concludes, there are soon to be so many of these social networks, that fatigue will set in fast. People will either be forced to make choices about where they invest time in uploading profiles to either the most generic or the most niche, depending on your purpose. So there will be opportunities for entrepreneurs to link the networks together to be searchable (already some sites are starting to do this, like Wink, Minggl or Social Grapes).

Surely, it's just a little early to be writing off social networks while they're still in their infancy? Perhaps the mainstream generic sites will start to peak, but the niche sites are just getting started. People are still figuring out where these tools fit into the mix.

IBM and Cisco are smart operators. They certainly wouldn't be investing millions in developing business grade social networking applications. Would they?

Robin Crumby.

Comments

[Judy Gombita]

"Even accountants like to network, improbable as it sounds"???

Why on earth would you think it is improbable, Robin? Methinks you are subscribing to some of those stereotypes that accountants are dull and introverted. I won't speak for the entire profession, but I can tell you first hand that the professional accountants I work with are anything but anti-social. Our entire CGA program of professional studies is delivered via an extremely sophisticated online learning environment (a highly customized Blackboard platform), meaning that peer-to-peer interaction via dedicated chatrooms, threaded discussions, lecturer-student Q&As, etc. form an integral part of many of our students (appreciated) learning and knowledge management experience.

In addition to that, many of our listservs (which have been in place for about a decade) continue to be quite active and lively. Queries for assistance to track down technical information (tax or business law) or questions about human resources and ethical situations often produce a very long and appreciative discussion from many respondents. This is in addition to our numerous in-person conferences, which tend to have a devoted following of conference/networking professional accountants, as well as newly minted CGAs who want to extend the online experience to the in-person meetups.

These things might not come under the umbrella that has been coined "social media/social networks," but they are very much community-building endeavours.

I don't think social networks are a flash in the pan, but I do think that the majority of folks are going to choose quality over quantity (which is pretty much what I've done to date), both in their networks and in their applications. I'm not understanding the appeal of something like Twitter...it's like a network-upon-network of Sybills. IMHO that's ego twittering (early and loudly), rather than the foundation of a long-term and useful social network.

[Robin Crumby]

OK, OK, Judy. Consider that notion well and truly quashed! Clearly accountants in Canada are wholly different from their counterparts in the UK, who would rather chew their own calculator than have a conversation with flesh and blood. I stand corrected.

Robin.

[Judy Gombita]

Just my opinion, Robin. You could always Twitter about it and see if others want to chime in (and echo) your sweeping generalization about the social skills of UK accountants. ;-)

My condolences on the bad experience(s) you appear to have suffered in your dealings with one or more financial management advisers, not to mention their unusual eating habits. That can't be good for their teeth.