When our space became Myspace
With what we can do online exploding exponentially on a daily basis, it’s often the case that Social Networks like Myspace offer a useful way to wall your online world.
With Myspace now offering a dedicated online games platform, how long before we get our first truly interactive broadcast channel, and will the first past the post end such giants as Facebook, You Tube or even Google itself.
All seeing Google
Google has become the centre of most people internet universe, its quick loading time and accurate results has always been popular with users and with its ever evolving services it’s difficult to see how Google will ever lose its dominate position.
With the EU constantly fining Microsoft for uncompetitive practises would it is possible in the future for Google to come to the same fate.
With Governments around the worlds relentless push to regulate and sanitise the net, it could be Google own free speech stance that could see its undoing. Already with an angered Chinese government, it can’t be long before Google feels the wrath of religious and political groups and countries where Google listed content actively contravenes there inherent laws.
Citizen Networks
Social networks like Myspace and Facebook have shown the way corporations can capture large user bases and through their inherent viral nature, ensure they are profitable through advertising.
Currently social networks are borderless but as Governments take firmer stances against illegal downloading and material, country based social network could be seen as a way of localising content as well as giving a safe space to its users.
With social networks being available now on ever platform from the pc, to games consoles through to smart phones, it’s now becoming increasing difficult to find someone who is not part of this online family.
User directed content
Where social networks like Facebook don’t do well, is against the traditional broadcast media. Unlike the TV or radio, content is not streamed to you constantly but it requires the user to actively select their next online treat. While services remain in this vein, people will still rely on traditional media content.
TV companies who already put their content online already know this and on many site you can ‘tune into a channel’ and view as you would as if you were in front of the TV set.
With Myspace integrated Games channel, Myspace is hoping to entice the growing band of social gamers to its site like Facebook before it, but although highly popular, still requires the users constant input.
Back to the future
While the MySpace games platform has made the industry news pages, Myspace is not offering anything radically different to anything else out there.
But it does give us a clue as to where online media is going.
There have been many reports that TV has died to the YouTube generation. This is not true, YouTube is in a transition phrase where eventually we will have a more TV like experience, you will ‘tune into the Sci-Fi web channel’ and see 24hour streaming sci-fi films and programmes, at the beginning of each hour the channel will ‘flick’ to the latest news, and the screen will buzz when you friend is online and wants to chat. In short total media integration, paid for by advertising, giving you the user a free at the point of use experience.
In 1984 Big Brother was watching you but in 2014 will the new social networks have us watching them…. 24 hours a day?
