I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that Social Networking is the purest example so far of Marshall McLuhan’s statement about the medium being the message.
Social networking seems to offer the ability to use a consistent distribution mechanism (the Internet) to offer varying forms of media channel (the Web2.0 fashionable service du jour) where the underlying content becomes less and less relevant in comparison to the way in which the content is delivered.
This time two years ago, my then employer was setting up virtual spaces in Second Life. Second Life – remember that?
MySpace was the place for breaking new music. The Artic Monkeys are still around… kids aren’t so keen on MySpace now though…(Although being owned by Rupert Murdoch doesn’t exactly naturally imply youth credibility).
Facebook holds sway, until Twitter takes over…
…and in two years time, the whole shebang will have undoubtedly moved on again.
In the past, technology waves have seen an early peak from early adopters, which have then been followed by mass adoption. Similar trends seem to occur with Web2.0 and Social Networking services, except that maybe the Trough of Disillusionment is felt by all, and people then move on to the New new thing en masse.
Maybe that, or it’s only Meedja types in Soho and Hoxton that are really using any of this stuff anyway.
In the meantime, does any of the social networking impact or come close to “traditional” media like telephones? Phones are now but just another Web2.0 service delivered over an IP network (with the exception of the last mile)…
Why's this important? Well, to extend out from McLuhan, the message gets lost if the recipient doesn't know what medium you're sending it over. Communication breaks down even more if I expect to be Facebooked when you expect me to Tweet… Already organisations find challenges where teams do not have shared norms about what communications media should be used for what purpose. Web 2.0, with it's plethora of effectively new media runs the risk of causing even more strife as people struggle to understand how, let alone what, they should be communicating.
mmitII 