According to the recent Synovate’s survey, “more than ‘one-half of adults surveyed in 17 countries do not know what social networking is” and 36% of social network users said they were losing their interest in social networking.
Does this mean that social networks are losing their allure? Probably not.
Every week I find newly registered users on Facebook or LinkedIn – people that I have known or worked with before but lost connections with. I see more and more people use social networking sites for a wide range of purpose – from connecting with their family and college buddies, to professional networking, to job searching, to marketing and branding.
“Answers” on LinkedIn is becoming popular among people looking for an expert advice or just a few words of wisdom. MySpace is getting big among music artists who want to connect with their fans. Facebook is great for finding/establishing interest groups and, thus, marketing. Twitter is a hit for personal branding and wisdom sharing. In addition, if my mom signed up for a Russian equivalent of classmates.com last week, social networking is way too far from being called a fallen empire.
May be the buzz and excitement are not the same. But this might just mean that from something crazy-new social networking is turning into an integral part of our lives.
