The State Of Social Media In 2010

We are only a month or so into 2010 and already it is shaping up to be an interesting year for social media.  On the last day of January socialmedian – the company that focused on ways to find and share news of all kinds through various social media sites – was swallowed up by Xing.

Since Xing is a social media site along the lines of LinkedIn, aiming itself purely at professionals rather than everyone else, it will be interesting to see how socialmedian is taken on by the site.  Which features will remain and which ones will be forgotten by the time the year is out?

2009 stood out as the year when we got our news – confirmed or otherwise – from the likes of Twitter, while more new applications and developments popped up for most of the key social media sites on the block today.  As far as Twitter is concerned, 2010 could be the year in which it finally breaks into profitability.  This is by no means certain – even creator Matt Stone doesn’t come across as being overly optimistic about the odds – but it could happen, if not in 2010 then soon.

Of course everyone will also be wondering which sites we don’t yet know much about, but will be talking about no end by the time Christmas rolls around again.  Foursquare looks to be a prime example of a site which could achieve the great heights of success very soon.  While you can find out much about the site and the concept on their website, the idea is that various versions of it are available for various phones.  Those who have access to an iPhone, an Android or some other similar handset will no doubt be caught up in the excitement before too long.

Foursquare enables you to ‘check in’.  This means you can tell your friends where you are and if they are nearby you can meet up with them.  It sounds quite basic until you look in to the various other advantages of the concept – and that’s when you will want to become a member.  I predict Foursquare will be as much as household name as Twitter by the time 2010 is out.

2010 will also see the term ‘real time’ being more and more important.  Nowhere is this more evident at the moment than at Digg, the website that allows you to share anything and everything you find online with other people, as well as saving it for your own needs and entertainment.  According to Kevin Rose, Digg’s founder, the site is in for some major – and probably much overdue – changes.

We can also expect social media sites to become even more mobile friendly.  Since many more people are using their mobiles to access the internet – whether this is via an iPhone or a more traditional handset – there will be more social media sites that are nicely set up for connecting with people on the go.  Twitter is easy enough to use with your mobile and you can get a Facebook app for your iPhone.  Expect to see more of the same – some better than others – as the year goes on.

One thing which does stand out in this area at the moment is the fact that there is a split between those who believe social media sites are good for marketing and those who don’t.  Some appear to have tried this method of promotion and have now ditched it in favour of other methods, whereas a second group is just as passionate about social media being the ideal place to promote your wares and find the right audience for your products and services.

How will 2010 end up in this regard?  While social media sites were seen as an outstanding way to promote things, this viewpoint does seem to be changing.  Perhaps they will eventually return to being sites that are primarily for networking and meeting new people, rather than being hijacked by those wanting to build their businesses.

All in all the year is shaping up to be another fascinating one as far as social media is concerned.  It will be worth watching very closely to see what happens next.