Week of August 28, 2006

Social Networking Trends - Part 4

Friday, September 1, 2006

The major categories where we see social networking heading in 2007...

Still in the nascent stage, we believe these networks will have real momentum heading into 2007. These networks will integrate and facilitate the physical interaction of friends and acquaintances with a complementary online focus for their network when they aren't meeting. Much of this role is currently fulfilled by things like individually created Yahoo! Groups, but the ability to create a more robust experience thanks to software advances by companies like KickApps will lead to people moving to a more complete social networking solution.

Social Networking Trends - Part 3

Thursday, August 31, 2006

The major categories where we see social networking heading in 2007...

Invitation-only networks where membership is tightly controlled. These networks are different than special interest networks because membership requires more than just a shared interest with the network.

Social Networking Trends - Part 2

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

The major categories where we see social networking heading in 2007...

The explosion of networking tools and widgets for personal web pages means that some people will network independently, through their own blog or web site, with the sharing of content occurring outside of any extant social network.

Social Networking Trends - Part 1

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

While all the attention in social networking has been on the explosion in popularity of global networks like MySpace, Pollack Media Group sees the social networking space fragmenting as it matures. In general, we see social networks growing along three distinct lines: Internet/global, geographic/local, and special interest.

Like traditional communities, there will be a complex overlap between these three trends, making simple identification difficult. That said, over the next week or so we'll present the major categories where we see social networking heading in 2007.

Massive networks of individuals linked by the network itself. Examples include MySpace and Facebook.

Google Office Arrives

Monday, August 28, 2006

Sure, they don't call it "Google Office," but it is the first volley in what will certainly become Google's online competitor to Microsoft's venerable Office suite. Called "Google Apps for your Domain," the service combines Gmail, Talk, Calendar, and Page Creator in a single control panel. Google's word process application, Writely, and spreadsheet program, Google Spreadsheets, are both expected to soon join the Apps service, making the Google Office a near reality in the not too distant future.