Has the new media bubble burst?

Tim Berners Lee, creator of the internet, recently proclaimed that social networking sites are ruining the internet. What does he mean by this? Lee argues that social networks are becoming so closed off and guarded by stringent privacy settings that they are creating their own mini internets. Tim’s comments smack of old man ‘things were better in my day’ rhetoric, there’s also a suspicion he’s still kicking himself for not patenting the greatest invention of the 20th century.

But Tim does have a valid point. Virtual monopolies like Facebook have an incredible amount of influence on the future direction of the internet. The fact is half a billion people have Facebook accounts, which means Zuckerberg and co have access to half a billion peoples’ personal details, interests and habits – an advertisers dream. However with new privacy settings guarding that information and the invention of tools like Facebook email, a rival to established email programs Gmail and Hotmail, users are encouraged to stay within the facebook network and never venture out into cyber space.

Two problems arise from this, firstly it stifles innovation – new ideas are based around adding to established existing social networks such as Facebook, twitter and Myspace rather than creating new ways of communicating. Secondly, from a marketing prospective, communicating with social networkers will become increasingly difficult.

The new privacy settings mean that advertisers and marketing professionals won’t be able to access as much information as before and the invention of @facebook.com email addresses means that users will be able to automatically deflect non Facebook email addresses away from their inbox and into a specific folder. Most likely spam.

These are good ideas from the Facebook team but another step towards closing off a previously open market. Communications companies are cautious, maybe even apprehensive about social networking, possibly because due to a lack of understanding. But there is no doubt they see the potential benefits of a solid new media campaign – endless new media ‘master classes’ prove that. However, tactics will have to change if a bitter battle for user time supremacy ensues between the leading online players. Maintaining a loyal user base will be essential to stay competitive, which means offering as wide a range of services as possible and protecting your users from threats of rival services. Thus closing down communication channels and eliminating what made social networking so popular in the first place – free open communication.

Jay McGregor, Linstock Consultant

http://www.linstockcommunications.com/