| Why Social Networking Is Getting Real... |
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| Tech Guru - Tech News | |
| Written by Mediabharti Syndication Service | |
| Tuesday, 27 July 2010 | |
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Washington (USA): The last month has seen countless reports in the media claiming that advances in modern technology and the internet are leading to loneliness amongst Britons who, in turn, are finding it harder to meet new people and engage on a meaningful level. However, industry insiders are now hitting back and insisting that social media and mobile communications, far from isolating people, actually go a long way towards bringing people together in the ‘offline’ world and that we are on the brink of a revolution in the way we use the web. The latest support for these predictions comes from trendwatching, one of the world’s leading consumer trends firms. They most recently forecast the burgeoning need of web users for ‘real world’ meet-ups, driven by the social media boom and mobile communications, and predict that this is set to go main-stream. They also foresee that 'online' brands will have to further embrace ‘offline’, by building a temporary or permanent, physical presence in the real world. Facebook is celebrated for being one of the pioneering social media websites; it has received huge success since its launch in 2004 and today dominates the online networking space. However, moving forward into an age where masters of the industry, including respected technology investor Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures, predict that the next generation of web services will need to have an impact on the real world and the real economy, are Facebook doing enough to break new ground in the “web meets world” movement. Todays report from Oxygen Media would suggest not- the results found that although women are increasingly claiming to have a Facebook ‘addiction’, 50% are happy to be friends with complete strangers online and would not trust Facebook with their private information, which indicates that the majority of users are restricting their experience to online activity alone. CitySocialising conducted its own survey of their members to understand their Facebook habits and the extent to which the network had an impact offline. The results found that although the average Facebook user has around 137 ‘online’ friends, they class only 24 (less than 20%) of those as “real” and admitted to seeing only 10% of those friends on a regular basis. Just under half of Facebook users admitted that they wouldn’t be able to find someone they’d want to go out with when browsing through their first 15 friends on Facebook. Sanchita Saha, expert, said: “Facebook has been one of the internet’s biggest success stories and is incredibly important to our users to keep up to date and in touch with their friends. But in terms of meeting new people and new friends, Facebook is just not satisfying that need and we’re finding that more and more people are looking elsewhere on the internet for a way to develop real, meaningful friendships and new social connections. I think moving forward it’s important for sites like Facebook and other industry leaders to heed the warnings that the web is changing and that its real impact will ultimately be in its ability to make a difference to people offline.” |
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