Is social media here to stay?

 Someone asked me the interesting question recently "Do you think social media is just a passing phase?", which made me think. Why is it that this new social behaviour online has taken off so overwhelmingly that it is now estimated that by 2010, 70 percent of all online content will be user-generated?

 Until now, communication can be seen as two broadly distinct streams - conversation and communication. Conversation being an interaction between a few people, and communication allowing a message to be broadcast to many people yet with little or no interaction.

1. Conversation has evolved to allow increasing distances to be incorporated into conversation, from talking, through the invention of the telegraph, the telephone and of course email.

2. Communication can be seen as evolving from the town crier, rapidly increasing the speed, complexity and reach of the communication.  First up was the revolution created by Johannes Gutenberg as the printing press was developed, then radio, then television and finally web.

Social media is the first time in history that the two streams have come together, allowing mass conversations to happen.  I think we are only just beginning to see the real impact of this revolution in behaviours, now we can evolve a conversation, our thinking and our perspectives not just in conversation with one or two others, but with thousands of people simultaneously.  Google Wave looks like a possible contender for the next phase in this development, but it is now just taking the principles of simultaneous massive conversations forward in more innovative ways.

So yes, I do think social media is here to stay.

If I invented a new diary, what would it look like?

What would a diary look like if someone invented it today?  A combination of blog, photosharing, video, facebook, google maps, outlook and a thousand other things too.  I have long had a vision of a tool which stores a record of my life - linking linking events, times, friends, relationships, experiences and achievements.  So far though, I have yet to find anything which really does what I want, in a way which is easy to use. 

But maybe it is coming.   I have just come across ThisMoment.  I used a recent work trip to Dubai to record of a "Moment" (Trip to Dubai) to see what it was like, and overall, it was a fairly smooth and enjoyable experience that I can see having a place in the future.  Using Facebook connect allowed me to sign in incredibly easily, and integrated seamlessly allowing me to pick up Facebook frieds, photos etc.  It is fairly thin at the moment in the sites which are integrated but hopefully this will advance over time.  It certainly shows the value of Facebook Connect and is a good start at the very least in combining images, video, contact and events/moments to create a permanent record of things.  Overlaying how you feel about a particular moment is an interesting focus, though I am not sure one which works very well yet.

It is my daughter's birthday at the weekend, and that might provide a more memorable and worthy "Moment" to create and store.

Blackberry detox

I am just back from annual holiday and this year, 2 weeks away....  Fabulous!  2 whole weeks. So, as I set off, I dutifully turn off the blackberry email push.

Oh.  No flashing red light,  I still find myself checking email, even though it has been switched off

Email has come to mean that I am wanted, needed, valued. With no emails, then have I become superfluous?  What is going on?  How is everything going?  Of course, the bigger question is why should I care when I am on a Greek beach for the next two weeks, but I have become so used to being plugged into what is going on almost 24 hours a day that becoming unplugged is incredibly difficult. 

Our pace of life at work has accelerated such that I expect to be plugged in almost 24 hours a day. Blackberries allow us to take our office with us wherever we go, at any time. We are never away from the office, and never unable to answer questions. Add in twitter and facebook updates on your mobile, and a holiday quickly becomes merely a change in location.

So, I went cold turkey on the blackberry, and it took a few days, but I did manage to wean myself off blackberry dependency and eventually thoroughly enjoyed the freedom from emails.  Have I changed my blackberry habits after returning though?  Try emailing me after 9pm and see!