What Comes After Facebook?
Last week I attended the Argyle CMO Leadership Forum, featuring more than 100 senior-level marketers covering all sorts of industries. Naturally the topic of social media came up frequently, as people were curious how their programs stacked up to their peers, and what insight and best practices has been achieved. One executive from MTV Networks, Christina Glorioso, shared her predictions for where social media is heading, and what MTV is doing to anticipate the future.
Social networks and interactive platforms are here to stay, she explained. And as more people become comfortable with interacting online, there will be more of a shift toward 3-D social networking with avatar-based environments. And she doesn't mean Second Life.
"We're very bullish that the next interation of social media will be about avatars," Glorioso said. Today's kids already live in that world. Consider programs like Nintendo Wii, Club Penguin, and even Guitar Hero. Users create characters that they control and mirror what they do in real life. She says that for kids, their virtual world is very much like their real world. They tend to create avatars that look like them, and do activities they can do offline, like buy a soda from a soda machine.
As they grow up, they will expect other social networks to allow this type of 3-D interaction. Companies that can provide these types of platforms will learn more about their users and create a successful environment.
It's an interesting concept, and one that I personally think will come to fruition. And it's one example that technology is moving so fast that exponential growth and advances in use will happen over months, not years. So it's good to keep a social media strategy flexible as users re-define a good experience in the blink of an eye. Try to keep up.
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