As 2010 progresses, there will be strides made in the way social media functions as well as the way in which it integrates into our daily lives. Based on what we’ve seen so far, we’ve only scratched the surface of possibilities that social media has brought us. Below, we’ve outlined the areas in which you can expect to see some progress.
Mobile Social Media Access
With the iPhone, Droid, Blackberry and now the iPad on the scene, social media sites are looking to drive the use of mobile devices to access things like Facebook and Twitter. People are increasingly on the go and having mobile access makes all kinds of sense, especially with statistics that tell us 25 percent of Facebook users primarily access the site through mobile methods.
Legal Implications
As technology advances at record speeds, law struggles to keep up and such is the case with social media. One of the biggest topics of conversation currently is the liability that companies face – specifically companies that use sophisticated monitoring tools. Tools like Radian6 can increase a companies’ awareness of what is being said about their brand, but it may also increase liability if conversations being monitored preface an illegal act. The question may lie in whether or not the company had the ability to take action against the illegal action or even prevent it.
Social Media Policy
In the same tone as the previous legal implications reference, many companies have already begun and will continue to implement and enforce social media policies for employees. There will be rules of engagement that apply to certain social media sites as well as consequences for breaking those rules.
“Sharing” as an E-mail Replacement
As more and more news and information sites delve into the social media realm, more content pieces will be easily and readily available to share through social media sites. Stories and articles that would have been emails to friends and colleagues in times past will now be tweeted, dugg and linked to via facebook. Organizations are finding ways to make it effortless to share information with just the touch of a button.
What other changes and trends have you noticed in the beginning of 2010?