Social media communication trends: reflections and insights

“…to know where you are going, you’ve got to know where you’re coming from…“
Will Smith, in American sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel Air

At the turn of every New Year there is a compulsion which borders on obsession about taking stock of the days gone by and gazing into their crystal balls (no pun intended!) trying to make sense of the future.

This is how we evolve as individuals, organizations and civilization at large; by making sense of the past. Also, being involved in social media there is need felt by end users, practitioners, observers and any one else interested in this exciting space, to filter through the chaos that romps through the annals of the internet.

I had made a pact with myself not to get into a retrospective mode, simple because I felt I need to evolve as a practitioner and not state the obvious. Like, by and large there is consensus on the fact that communication on online platforms is going to be huge. Social Networking is the next big thing in online media communication. No arguments there, geniuses!

So I was a little perplexed when the same old predictions were doing the rounds this year too. It did reaffirm my faith in the potential of this medium as a platform which can be leveraged for communication (do we really need anymore convincing…!)

The stock answer to this from people sitting on both sides of the fence, traditional and digital, is unanimous that this is a nascent medium and requires aggressive evangelism to succeed as a business proposition. Especially to those who are not sold on the digital marketing / social media communication gravy train (if you know what I mean…) but are in positions of authority and power to make decisions which change the very soul of business as it is conducted today.

I agree. We need to evangelize, spread the good word. But mostly it seems that we are trying too hard to convince ourselves. Are we really sold on digital media?? Or do we probe in the dark, stirring and yearning to make sense of this chaos which we don’t quite understand completely ourselves. And, that is a reality which we need to contend with.


Here are seven most interesting resources which I caught up with while brushing up on my Social Media 2008 reflections and 2009 future trends:
(Do suggest some more posts that kick butt on this topic)

1) Pringo Highlights Business Social Networking Trends for 2009 [Link]
Pringo, US based provider of non-hosted online community platforms, CEO Majid Abai offers his forecast for how social networking will shape up in 2009

2) Looking back on our 2008 predictions [Link]
A retrospective on projections by Jeremiah Owyang and Josh Bernoff


3) Social Media Trends for 2009: And My 2008 Predictions Revisited For Accuracy [Link]
Kami Hyuse admittedly follows suit with an insightful review of her 2008 predictions and 2009 trends

4) Recap 2008: Indian online scenario [Link]
WATBlog’s “Recap 2008” series which sums up all the trends and major action observed in the Indian online business space specific to verticals such as gaming, online matrimony, Social Networking, etc.

5) Must read posts on social media in 2008 [Link]
Brian Solis’ recommendation on a must read for social media practitioners / users

6) Predictions 2009: Online media [Link]

7) The Only New Year’s Digi PR List You Will Ever See [Link]


Update:
Seven Predictions for 2009 from e-marketer CEO, Founder Geoff Ramsey
[Link]

Update2 (Jan 12 2009):
7 social media predictions by Search Engine Watch [Link]