Defining the Future of Social Media
A recent post on Advertising Age entitled “What Social Media Will Look Like in 2012” captured my attention and got me thinking (this could be dangerous, I know). Needless to say the article speculated that in 2009 most major marketers adopted social media as something that is here to stay and not just a fad. While I agree with this to some extent, the article went on to outline the eleven points to watch for in the coming years leading up to 2012.
• Privacy expectations will have to change: Sharing more personal information with people you don’t even know…hummm although some may be all into this I don’t think it is necessary for complete strangers to know my favorite color or what my preferred pizza topping is.
• Complete decentralization of social networks: Everything is becoming more portable from iPad to iPhone many check friend’s status updates and news while on the run.
• Our interactions with search engines will be different: I agree with the fact that real-time information will be king.
• Rise of content aggregators: Who wants to login to 5 different social networking services to check on statuses and news- the aggregator can serve as man’s best friend.
• Social media augmented reality: Kind of scary to know what your friend is doing before even picking up the phone to call. This to me takes away a certain level of personal contact, just like email has reduced the number of snail mail letters that are sent.
• Influencer marketing will be redefined: Social influence will have more pull than the old-school search features that Google and other major search engines currently offer.
• Ratings everywhere: User ratings could hinder or help, all dependent upon the specific instance. A lot of purchasers nowadays look at how products are rated by users before ultimately making the purchase decision.
• Social media agents: Oh great! More things going automated and taking the person out of the customer service experience, please press 0 not to be connected to a live person.
• Riding the Google (wave): It could be the next big thing, but only time will tell.
• Thinking beyond “nowness”: Could the answer really be the semantic web?
• Social media everything and return of digital media: Not too sure that social media may change to being referred to as digital media.
