Social Media in 2009

Social Media continues to be the pretty girl at the ball that everyone wants to go dancin’ with.  But even IF your business can benefit from using social media, make sure you ease into these waters slowly. 
Five things that probably won’t happen in social media in 2009

1. We probably won’t see the rise of mobile social media
For many years, people have been predicting the rise of the mobile web, and this year is no different. Evidence from the UK suggests that growth in Internet penetration is indeed being driven, in part, by an increase in mobile internet access. But this increase is being driven only by those who are already online and by a very small proportion of these.
2. We won’t see widespread acceptance of portable profiles
A significant development in social networks and online communities will be portable profiles; where people can take their profile (and their friends) with them to all of their online communities.
3. We won’t all be searching semantically
There’s been much talk of the semantic web for a while now, and semantic search would be a great step forward. But the technology that exists isn’t yet mass market, and this probably isn’t going to change in 2009.
4. We won’t see as many new social media tools as in 2008
2008 has been a great year for innovation and experimentation. It seems that new social media tools have been launched every day. Some have been successful, others less so.
5. We won’t crack social media ROI (just yet)
We’ve spoken a lot in 2008 about measuring ROI in online communities and across social media.

Social Media in 2009: Our Predictions and Desires

What Will Our Social Media Experience Be Like in 2009?
Given the current economy, there may be fewer applications and services to try next year. Whatever will we early adopters do? We love to flit from service to service, trying the latest shiny new thing, endlessly discussing whether or not it will stick, whether it will “cross the chasm.” 
What We Want in 2009: Help Us Manage Social Media Better
For the entrepreneurs still looking to get our attention with the latest social media toys, their pitch may no longer be “come try this, it’s new,” but instead, “come try this, it helps.” Because if there’s anything we learned from 2008, it’s that social media overload is not sustainable.
Our Social Media Wish List
Perhaps next year, we’ll see more apps that help us better organize, if not filter, the information we deal with every day.

• Google Reader add-ins and/or Greasemonkey scripts
• Auto-categorization tools
• More Friend Synchronization tools
• Friend List Sanitizers
   

Here is a comprehensive map of sites driving the future of social media. From Overdrive Interactive, an online marketing services firm that really gets it. Enjoy and proliferate.