In an article published on January 13, 2011, author John Egan discusses the predictions people have made for the future of “social media in 2011.” The article was entitled, “2011 Social Media Forecast: Privacy Concerns, Tumblr, E-mail, Facebook on the Rise,” and the author mentions thirteen different predictions that companies have made for the future of the internet, which reminded me of the video we watched in class since the protagonist was so knowledgeable on the future of the internet. A few of the predictions definitely stand out as they are happening already. One in particular, made by MSLGroup states that, “social networkers will realize their online friends with too many co-workers and acquaintances. As a result, they may scale back their Facebook friends or turn to social networks that are more private.” I have definitely seen this trend occurring already, especially with numerous amounts of people getting fired due to what they do/say on facebook.
The article also, in a way, seems to be proposing somewhat of a demise of facebook in 2011. Forrester said, “facebook doesn’t own social media in 2011,” however I think right now they do. On the other hand, I think it is almost a matter of time before people stop using facebook and move solely to twitter (though I do not have a twitter account) or the next new social media website. People are always looking for bigger and better; anyone remember myspace? Myspace will, in my opinion, soon be a nonexistent site since it seems that barely anyone still has an account, and out of the people that do have accounts, many do not even use it. I presume that the same thing will happen to facebook.
I agree that more people are definitely looking at social media in a new perspective since we have heard about people getting fired because of social media sites. More people are changing their privacy settings and being careful about what they post on social media sites. I think it’s a strange thing that a person might get fired over holding a drink in a Facebook picture but would that person be fired if they ran into their boss at a bar? The privacy prediction regarding Facebook is definitely valid and it is something we are starting to see already.
I do believe that Facebook does not have the same power they had a few years ago. Having a Twitter account, I am more likely to look at Twitter than Facebook when a major event occurs, such as the earthquakes in Japan. This site has news sources and companies whereas I view Facebook just as a site to talk with friends. Though Facebook still has millions of users, I have seen a shift from Facebook to Twitter. This seems to reflect the appeal of our “constant need for something new”. I remember the days of Sconex when this was the “it” site and now I do not think it even exists anymore. With bigger and better technology coming out every day, I would not be surprised to see a new social media site come out soon that will have a new hype.