I was honored to receive an email from Peter Kim couple of weeks ago, asking for my predictions for social media in 2009. Peter is a former analyst for Forrester Research and he's now part of a VC that's focusing on social computing.The reason I was honored is not just because Peter is a smart guy whom I've always admired, but he included me in some pretty distinguished company. In the end, 14 of us responded and came up with some fairly interesting and bold takeaways for 2009.
Some are:
- "Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology - it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful." - David Armano
- "You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way." - Rohit Bhargava
- "Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation." - Pete Blackshaw
- "Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn't come the way people thought it would." - Chris Brogan
- "The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media." - Todd Defren
- "There's a lot of fixing that needs to be done." - Jason Falls
- "Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball." - Ann Handley
- "We're going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate 'commitment'." - Joseph Jaffe
- "The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis." - Charlene Li
- "After a pre-qualifying wrestling match..." - Ben McConnell
- "These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them." - Scott Monty
- "The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies." - Jeremiah Owyang
- "Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return." - Andy Sernovitz
- "Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter." - Greg Verdino
Here's the full paper, via Scribd, a service that I really like and that' I've been using for Ford initiatives. Feel free to embed, pass it along, comment on it, or whatever.
Social Media 2009
Photo credit: circulating