The Next facebook…
Written by Neil Kelley on Monday 12th July 2010 at 10:04 am
Recently, at various events, seminars and even out with friends, I’ve been asked “what’s the next facebook?” and, do you know what, I had no idea!
So it got me thinking, and kept me awake, and then got me a bit frustrated and tired, and then something clicked and I thought “you know what, I think facebook is the next facebook” – because nothing, in the foreseeable future, is going to replace facebook – why would it need to?
So maybe the question was wrong… perhaps it’s about the next ‘killer’ social app? What will be the next new network, toy or tool that eats into our time and becomes part of our connected digital culture? Now, I’m no visionary in this field – far from it! Reading papers on the future of this beloved digital medium I see talk of web 3.0 – semantics, web 4.0 – connecting users and both real worlds, web 5.0 – the sensory, intimate web… I’ve read so many conflicting blogs, articles, papers and news stories stating that facebook is dead, that Google Me is the future, that facebook will kill Google, that twitter is the next search engine… and I get a bit fed-up of it all to be honest!
I’m a big fan of simplicity – the idea of thoughtful reduction (from John Maeda’s book The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)), balancing simplicity and complexity to produce a simple process or system, really appeals to me and I feel that it’s something missing from our online social experience(s).
We don’t need the next facebook, we don’t need the next twitter, or flickr, or foursquare, or LinkedIn (OK, I’ll stop now!)… we have them all and they do what they do and do it well. The online digital social environment is becoming more and more complex and because of that I think we need something to simplify our digital lives, that, in my humble opinion, will be the next ‘killer app’…
“Simplicity and complexity need each other. The more complexity there is in the market, the more that something simpler stands out. And because technology will only continue to grow in complexity, there is a clear economic benefit to adopting a strategy of simplicity that will help set your product apart.” (Maeda, J., 2006, p.45-46)
I couldn’t agree more. So, I’m having a look at Sharein at the moment – is it the answer to my prayers? Is it the next facebook? I don’t know – but if it makes life simpler – I’m in!
Maeda, J., (2006) The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life) Cambridge: The MIT Press
Tags: Facebook, future, simplicity, social networking, twitter
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Category: Emerging Trends
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