So what are the social media networks of the future going to look like? Charlene Li, author of the excellent book, Groundswell, has got out the Forrester Research crystal ball and made her predictions.
In an interview with Fast Company, she says: 'Instead of going to a certain place like Facebook or MySpace to be social with your friends, your friends will go wherever you need them to be. If I'm reading a book review on Amazon, I'll be able to see my friends' reviews - even if those reviews are written on a blog someplace else. Theere will definitely be platforms, but the key thing is they won't be walled gardens.'
Charlene Li also makes the important point that banner ads don't work well within a social media network context because there is no way they can lead to a personal conversation.
That is the key point, everyone is having conversations online now. Anyone can create the news. The audience is taking over. They own the internet and they are sharing ideas, thoughts, views with each other without referring to companies or brands. Control is impossible within this context instead companies need to engage.
http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/06/interview-charlene-li.html
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