What is important in human communication? Is the nature of the way people relate to each other actually undergoing a change because of online communication? Or is interpersonal communication still essentially the same, with online modes of communication simply offering new opportunities for us to communicate?

The next major wave in social networking will come from those who focus on networks for the like-minded—sites that tie people together into a community where they can share their interests and passions. With social software, we’re for the first time arranging the Internet in a way that makes sense to the deeper inclinations of our brains, this new twist may well be the beginning of the Internet as it is meant to be. True social software rejects the premise that software is for a person, and opens up the possibilities of software made for multiple people. It can accept data you offer it about your social network and create new connections.

The Internet world is relentlessly enthusiastic in its embrace of the newest and coolest, and this year’s new flavor has been social networking. With the growth of tools for creating specialized social networking sites becoming more readily available (Ning, Cisco Eos) – we’ll be seeing networking sites start to evolve, taking on new characteristics, and performing new roles. We’ll see an explosive unbundling of the services that make up social networks.

Why is online communication even appealing? What makes people interested in the kinds of interaction that take place on Facebook, or over Skype or Twitter? Why do people go online and talk to each other instead of doing something else, like cooking or watching television or skiing?

Discussions, topics and content are free-ranging. But is a community of 30+ million people a “community” at all? If we look at the evolution of other media, we see a pattern of segmentation and specialization. Is that the direction social networking will go? The most successful social networks have been successful because they effectively inspired the connectors to connect en masse. The future will be about the importance of putting a stake in the ground and IDENTIFYING ourselves with a PRIMARY IDENTITY.

Some interesting articles:

http://gigaom.com/2008/01/20/social-networks-from-the-80s-to-the-00s

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/06/technology/06wireless.html

http://www.news.com/8301-13953_3-9904380-80.html?tag=nl.e703