SNS

In the March 22 edition of the Economist, there was an interesting article published on the role of social networking in online business. The question is whether the actual sites used to connect individuals will simply become a function of preferred web portals. Is the social function the new search for leading sites like Google to maintain their favorable position in the market?

Currently you have to sign up to independent networks in order to link to friends, and after the initial buzz of linking is over the rate at which people are drawn to those networks is drastically decreased.

The idea is that social networking in essence should be a main component of what it means to be “online.” It is more than obtaining information, it is also about connecting with others.

Mimi Ito recently reported at a MacArthur gathering that one interesting difference she found among Internet users were the different ways people actually interacted with social networks within the Internet. Specifically, she found two types of social users, those who go online to connect to existing friends and participate in existing networks through a new medium, and those who go online to connect to new networks or participate in knowledge sharing networks found around shared interests. The full report should be released later this summer.

Currently, networks work independently of one another. And to join a new network you must re-invent your friend list to each new space. Linking social spaces or opening up platforms to create on log-in that transfers among networks seems to the Economist to be the upcoming place for business.

Even as it is, people will probably pick one network that they love and choose to post information there and then view other profiles from the shared locations once they go big.