Evan Williams and more...

I thought the Evan Williams interview was interesting because of his insights into the future of social media. He believes five years from now people will come to have accepted more transparency in their lives as a result of digital technologies that enable new types of communications. I find this interesting because as this happens, there is a parallel phenomena that rejects transparency because people feel they lose their identities when information is spread about them, with the ultimate scenario being identity theft. I believe their will actually be a Twitter rebound in the coming years as cultures seek to find the harmonious balance of private and public. I think the rush to publish everything on the internet has started with an immense surge simply because of the availability and excitement of new technologies. As the awe of this technology subsides, people will actually share fewer details about when they are brushing their teeth or going to the store, and focus more on meaningful relationships enabled by blogging and other forms of social networks. It is hard to say when this balance will be reached or what its impetus will be, but I think it is inevitable given the premium placed on privacy in the digital information age.
In other news, the article "Making the transition to the social web" provided some good insights into chaning your mindset about marketing and rejecting one way communication in favor of a dynamic conversation between companies and consumers. Finally, I did not realize how social media was used in response to the tragic tsunami that hit Indian Ocean. I think social media has since been a large player in how history is made and how news is recorded. I cannot help but think of the impact of social media on nations in the Middle East over the last six months. It is hard to imagine that widespread revolutionary dialogue could have been sustained without social media.