Social Networks of the Future

A few years ago “blogging” was an unheard of concept. Portals like Yahoo and MSN gave way to the next generation of platforms – Facebook, Myspace etc. The way we communicate with those around us and the way we do things has changed a lot during this time. I found some information on what the next generation of social networking tools will be like and what new things will be possible.

Imagine walking into a room and being able to know the names of everyone there, what their interests and hobbies are, where they work and even if they are single and interested in dating. Welcome to the world of mobile social networking. There is a start up company working on such an application for the i-phone.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/09/i-saw-the-future-of-social-networking-the-other-day/

Every time a new networking site opens up, a friend invites me and I end up with yet another account name and password to remember. Social networking of the future may have just one universal ID complete with all details and a “social graph” so the only thing I have to do will be to import all my data instantly updating the new service and connecting it to the rest of my online world.

http://blogs.forrester.com/groundswell/2008/03/the-future-of-s.html

Or how about having a page rank for people, making it easier for companies to direct their marketing activities and target potential customers / influencers. Google already has a patent pending on this technology and it’s expected to be their latest approach to online advertising.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_40/b4102050681705.htm
http://onlinemarketerblog.com/2008/10/02/google-social-networks-and-the-future-of-search/

All the applications mentioned here are in different stages of development. They should be available over the next few years. As for the year 2020, we are yet unsure of what the future has in store for social networking.