Social Media Top 5: Year End Edition

I wasn’t going to join the year-end list-making parade of reflections and predictions. We should be reflecting and predicting everyday, right? Why do it now? Then I realized “everyday” includes today, and, yes, I do a list every day – ok, every week – so, it would by hypocritical for me to refrain.

Not that I would care.

But I can make a list without feeling bad about scorning the whole end-of-year list-making BS, so there.

One difference– this Social Med ia Top 5 is not so much made-up jokes and eye-poking, but a broader year-end look, with a little-fun-making thrown in, I hope.

Maybe I should lay off scorning year-end lists after all. Here goes:

• In 2007, Guy Kawasaki proved 2 things with his site Truemors:
  • If you’re Guy Kawasaki you can put an elephant turd on a roll, call it a sandwich and people will eat it.
  • You can get a business up and running for less than $20,000, rather than begging for that $5 million VC round. I think we may see more worthy businesses succeed with this model in 2008.

• 2007 saw expansion of the idea of egalitarian media- anyone can create, and make a difference, while naysayers such as Andrew Keen started to get louder, disdaining the “Cult of the Amateur.” While I particularly found Keen’s use of social media tools to spread his antisocial media message, I do think that top-down media holds appeal for many folks, and we will see more of that in 2008. Where it is unwanted (Twitter?) it will be rejected, but other places (many blogs and “communities”) it will be embraced where people want it. We have the right to make media, but we also have the right to lurk and be an audience as well. The push-me-pull-you of these two social media schools of thought will continue, and continue to be interesting.
• Social Networks are more fully-formed than ever, but where next? We already know they will be incorporate into games (Sony is already well on the way, aren’t they?), but perhaps 2008 will see companies and people trying to insert social networks into other existing frameworks (television viewing), pushing the linits and seeing where it’s wanted.
• “Micro Networks” might even have a more interesting time of it. An off-shoot of the Hyper-lcoalization of the web, micro-networks will be highly targeted, niche specialized groups online. Most likely they will use tools like Ning to organize. I already see where the limits exist; my office, a cubicle culture, does not need an online social network (or work network), when we have cubicles. But “virtual” companies may find their own innovative ways to organize. It will be interesting to see what bubbles up.
• Virtual Worlds: 2007 saw the so-called “trough of disillusionment” for Second Life, the 3-D virtual world, but it also saw mainstream TV shows like CSI and The Office forming episodes around Second Life. Interest is not dead, but how will we see the next “pop?” Will it come from somewhere other than Second Life? A retail site or other online commons introducing 3-D avatars? How will the masses make the logical leap from The Sims to Second Life-style interactivity? Will it happen in 2008? Something will happen

OK, those 5 weren’t funny or snarky for the most part, so here’s a current-week bonus:

• crayon’s Scott Monty borrows a page from boss Joseph Jaffe (remember the “send me an iPhone” podcast?) and begs online for a snowblower. How should he repay the community? I think he should steal an idea from Blendtec and start a series of YouTube videos for Toro entitled “Will it Blow?”

ETA: Please put your feelings of social media for 2007/2008 in the comments– or linkbacks. Thanks for coming by!
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