Prospectus

Issue date: 9/10/08 Section: Technology

This technology exists through a German company named Aka-aki which is still testing the service of the same name but has made it available in Germany and the United Kingdom. Social networking's future probably doesn't include more Facebooks or MySpaces either. Just like America Online and Geocities grew out of favor with millions of users, so will these companies, maybe not so dramatically, but the Internet is a fickle place with users constantly demanding the newest and best product. Users also demand quality and everyone knows ten great friends are better than 100 average friends, although some profiles would suggest otherwise. This demand for quality will introduce smaller and smaller niche communities. These communities will have fewer friends, but better friends.
Social networking is all about the user. The user wants to interact with others and has many options to choose from, but the user is unsure of what option is best. If the user is into photography-Flickr, Photobucket, Shutterfly, or Snapfish (sites designed for uploading and sharing photos and pictures)-would be good options. If the user really enjoys blogging they might love micro-blogging from their cell-phone with Twitter, Pownce, or Jaiku.
If the user consumes online content daily and wants to share with others, then the bookmarking service Delicious, or StumbleUpon, a service that allows you to discover and rate pages, photos and videos, may be the best choice. The alternatives are out there and when it comes to social networking don't hang with the wrong crowd just because everyone else is doing the exact same thing. Take this advice, it comes from a friend.

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