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Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
December 26, 2007
Online Social Networking Frenzy Points to Internet's Future
By Raju Shanbhag TMCnet Contributing Editor
2007 has been the year of the social networking sites.
As leading social networking sites like MySpace (News - Alert) and Facebook continued to attract investors and the users alike, and as new social networking sites sprang up at a dizzying space, 2007 was a big year for social networking sites in the Web 2.0 domain.
According to a report in Economic Times of India, which quoted Google’s (News - Alert) “Zeitgeist 2007” results, seven out of the 10 hottest topics which triggered Internet queries during the year involved social networking. This list includes search for well known social networks like British website Badoo, Spanish-language Hi5, and US-based Facebook.
Other popular networking sites in the list are Google’s YouTube (News - Alert) and Dailymotion. Some other interesting entries are the Club Penguin online role playing game where children pretending to be the flightless birds “waddle about and play” together.
Still, the world may not have seen the full potential of social networking sites. Although one in every five Americans use MySpace, the company is hoping for more and aspiring to become people's homes on the Internet, with profile pages serving as online addresses as well as springboards to online music, video, news and other content conducive to their tastes and interests.
Naturally, this addiction to social networking sites has caught up the fancy of big time spenders in the Internet. Companies like Microsoft and Yahoo have either started their own social networks or tied up with the leading players in the industry. Microsoft recently paid 240 million dollars for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook (News - Alert). The value of three year old Facebook is a breathtaking 15 billion dollars.
Its competitor Facebook is not even disclosing its true value. The company only points out that it has about triple the membership and activity of Facebook. The rest is pure guesswork for the industry analysts!
One of the major reasons why people get attracted to the social networks is the amount of freedom they have. They can assume any avatars, be an animated character in the virtual worlds and be alive in these worlds even after they pass away. That’s the reason even virtual worlds like Second Life are headed for a big future, say analysts.
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Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Today’s featured White Paper (News - Alert) is titled VoIP Doesn’t Require Any Phone Equipment Investment, brought to you by Accessline.
As leading social networking sites like MySpace (News - Alert) and Facebook continued to attract investors and the users alike, and as new social networking sites sprang up at a dizzying space, 2007 was a big year for social networking sites in the Web 2.0 domain.
According to a report in Economic Times of India, which quoted Google’s (News - Alert) “Zeitgeist 2007” results, seven out of the 10 hottest topics which triggered Internet queries during the year involved social networking. This list includes search for well known social networks like British website Badoo, Spanish-language Hi5, and US-based Facebook.
Other popular networking sites in the list are Google’s YouTube (News - Alert) and Dailymotion. Some other interesting entries are the Club Penguin online role playing game where children pretending to be the flightless birds “waddle about and play” together.
Still, the world may not have seen the full potential of social networking sites. Although one in every five Americans use MySpace, the company is hoping for more and aspiring to become people's homes on the Internet, with profile pages serving as online addresses as well as springboards to online music, video, news and other content conducive to their tastes and interests.
Naturally, this addiction to social networking sites has caught up the fancy of big time spenders in the Internet. Companies like Microsoft and Yahoo have either started their own social networks or tied up with the leading players in the industry. Microsoft recently paid 240 million dollars for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook (News - Alert). The value of three year old Facebook is a breathtaking 15 billion dollars.
Its competitor Facebook is not even disclosing its true value. The company only points out that it has about triple the membership and activity of Facebook. The rest is pure guesswork for the industry analysts!
One of the major reasons why people get attracted to the social networks is the amount of freedom they have. They can assume any avatars, be an animated character in the virtual worlds and be alive in these worlds even after they pass away. That’s the reason even virtual worlds like Second Life are headed for a big future, say analysts.
---------
Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.Today’s featured White Paper (News - Alert) is titled VoIP Doesn’t Require Any Phone Equipment Investment, brought to you by Accessline.
