Hitwise has released an interesting report on the impact of social networking in the UK. The report starts with a statement that social networking has “cemented it status as bona fide internet phenomenon in 2007″ and then poses a question about whether this growth is sustainable.
I would think so. People tend to value new and improved forms of connectivity – as Andrew Odlyzko has observed. Hitwise go on to disclose that social network services provide a variety of ways for users to interact (chat, IM, video, file sharing, blogging, voice chat).
In other recent research I noted Bebo has partnered with UK and USA broadcasters to provide what has been dubbed as the Open Media Platform. Professional media companies and individuals can create and upload their own content and monetise it through serving and selling their own advertising. Bebo benefits through network effects presumably.
Who knows what other enhanced social networking features users will be willing to pay for.
This initiative is consistent with the symbiosis between mainstream media and social media described in the 2006 Future of Media report.
Another recent trend likely to drive the mainstreaming of social networking: mobile blogging. More on that later.
