The future of social networking?

Whats going to happen to social networking in the future? I have a few ideas, but I'll save them for later. First I want to talk about something I think will not happen.

This post (from last November) on the NY Times Bits blog, describes how Google and Yahoo! are going to use their e-mail programs to create a sort of organic social networking service. Now here's why I don't think this is a good idea. I don't really use e-mail to talk to any of my friends. I use AIM, Facebook, and Skype. I use e-mail almost entirely for mailing lists, and other website communications. While I can't speak for others, I would gain little benefit from either of these services.

I really don't know what the future of social networking will look like. I feel like the cycle of the new "next big thing" replacing the old "next big thing" will continue for a while, until someone figures out a genius way to actually make money over a long period of time using social networking.

Yahoo! OneConnect

When it comes to mobile applications, Yahoo! is king, at least on my Nokia 6126. I use Yahoo! Go everyday to search, map, check my e-mail, check the weather forecast, and read the news. Its attractive, easy to use, and has a lot of features in one place. If any company is going to make the ultimate mobile social networking service, its Yahoo!

Later this year, Yahoo! will be launching their next mobile app, Yahoo! OneConnect, and it has me really excited for the future of mobile social networking. It going to support IM (including AIM, who uses Yahoo! Messenger anyway?), social networking (including MySpace, Facebook, Last.fm, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. According to this News.com article, the service will also let you know if any of your friends are nearby, using GPS and/or triangulation.

For all the great possibilities of this service, it could potentially take internet stalking to a whole new level, and turn it into real stalking. As with anything else, people will need to be extra careful with who they link up with on Yahoo! OneConnect.

Even with those reservations, I can't possibly express how cool this app will be. Just check out the website for even more info. Also check out this video for a demonstration of the service.

My First Post

Hello, I am a student at American University. This blog is for the class Six Degrees: Social Networking and Business. I'm going to be reading some stuff related to this class. Then, for your benefit, I will be writing MY opinions of the subject matter of what I read and respond to the author. On my honor, all posts on this blog are my own.

I have had many experiences with social networking. I had a Xanga back a in high school, I have a Facebook, and now I have a blog. Those all are great, but my personal favorite social networking tool goes by the name last.fm. It's a tool that keeps track of all the music that you listen to on your computer and then the website provides recommendations and connects you with people who have similar music taste. You can also listen to custom radio stations, find concerts, and much more. My profile can be found here. You should try it out.