There is no easy answer to the question, "What will be the next Twitter?" Yesterday, it was Friendster and then MySpace; today we are hooked on YouTube, Facebook, and, undeniably, Twitter -- our friendly neighborhood microblogging buzz juggernaut. So who has staying power and what is next on the horizon for big digital breakthroughs?
In the past, there was an apparent distinction between one-way media and collaborative media. Today, the lines have been blurred. Imagine complete communication with your social circle, no matter what website you are visiting, what project you are working on, what game you are playing, or which TV show you are watching. This is the true promise of social media.
There is a lot of innovation that will take place over the coming years, and we will see new tools enter the market that have the power to make individual viewing experiences social. In the meantime, no marketing campaign or engagement these days can be created and sustained without considering the potential of making a social connection.
At the IPG Emerging Media Lab, we have identified five players that we feel will truly carry the promise of social media forward. But first, a look at the platforms that are bringing social functionality into their core reason for being:
Mobile social networks
It makes sense that the most significant consumer channel to be affected by social behaviors, after the web, would be mobile. Facebook, Twitter, and a number of other social networks have migrated to mobile phones, most effectively in the form of applications that not only allow you to access your profile but leverage Wi-Fi, GPS, and other addressability functionality to help you connect with data and people. Without a doubt, location-based mobile networks are the next wave of social. (We'll come back to that shortly.)
Social video
Viewing parties, viral sharing of video content, and chatting while viewing video online are becoming commonplace. As a result, CPMs are decreasing because of this social behavior -- advertisers don't always have to pay for reach, sometimes they can win it. Hulu, Boxee, and Joost are all based on this premise of content sharing. With Yahoo, Chumby, and OEMs duking out the widget-to-TV riddle, within a short period of time we may be living via our TV sets again.
Digital out-of-home social
Digital out-of-home solutions combined with the power of location-based services will soon allow for two-way communications to be leveraged when we're outside of our homes -- whether in bars, restaurants, stores, or downtown. In turn we'll see more social activity and behaviors emerging in the public sphere. Augmented reality, RFID solutions, and biometric interactions in stores are also creating new touchpoints that extend CRM and transforming the retail purchase funnel.
So which companies are poised to take over the Twitter throne with this social fever bursting? Here is a hint: They are mostly all old friends with new tricks that we think are lined up to do it right. We believe the heir to the Twitter throne will be a mega platform that acts as the digital Velcro in holding these social features and tools together. Enter Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, stage left.
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