Social Network Overload

Decided to finally set-up and update my contacts and realized that I’ve approached a social network overload. From Facebook to LinkedIn to Pownce, there’s an oversaturation. Good to know that I’m not the only one.

“If I see another business plan for a social network, I might blow my brains out,” Barry Schuler, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, said during a panel discussion (@ the  Dow Jones Web Ventures conference) this week.“It seems like 2000: Everything is the next big social network, even though no one has figured out a real business plan for that yet.”

Sentiment shared on my end. Recently, I’ve met a handful of people who have vocalized their view of an anti-technology/anti-social network movement. Curious to see if this thought has any legs and will watch this closely. 

For now, it may be premature as networks such as Facebook and MySpace grow to consume over 88% of social networking activity. But, we shouldn’t ignore the pendalum swinging back to the other side. Aggregators such as SocialThing! and FriendFeeder may become the tipping points that breaks the camel’s back.

On a seperate note, Paul Gillini’s recent social media report touches on Twitter and the feedback loop.

“The potential upside of this trend, however, is enormous. Imagine if you could stage an event — whether a conference, media campaign, product demo or something else — and get real-time feedback from the people watching. Or what if you could tie promotions to timely responses: “Text this number now in order to receive a 20% discount.” The technology to enable this interaction is here right now. I’m sure I’m only scratching the surface of the possibilities”

Agreed. Curious to see if Twitter leverages this as a selling point. Know companies such as Disqus are beginning to monetize this idea.