Think Forward

Does Facebook have a future

Just as more and more people are discovering Facebook, observed by the number of friend requests I get from colleagues , I am already beginning to wonder if the end has begun for Facebook. Not only has Facebook struggled and not shown a single compelling model to make money they are also struggling to keep people engaged for any period of time. Some of my latest research with over 100 social power users under the age 25, that I have observed follow and set the trends in social media, have begun alluding that they are spending less and less time on Facebook and on average less then 2 minutes at a time. They may still “check” it several times a day but again only a short burst. This does not bode well for advertisers because the future of advertising on the web will rely more on integrated efforts as opposed to banner ads or static advertising as we see today.

On top of all that Facebook does not have history on its side. If history proves true that once a market, in this case the market is social networking, reaches maturity it moves from standardization to segmentation. In short the market fragments. This is exactly what I think will happen with social networks. I have said before and still believe that social networks will number 1) become more community centric then networking centric and 2) much more focused or specialized.

All of that being said I am not sure what the future holds for Facebook. Facebook is at a number of crossroads and they need to figure out very quickly how to re-engage with people and keep them engaged by making it possible to have meaningful relationships with another human. This is the difference between a networking mentality and a community mentality. I particularly have not seen or heard a shred of visionary thinking from any top exec at Facebook that leads me to believe they have any clue where they are going. I am also quite excited about a few other communities that are popping up, which will remain nameless as they are in stealth mode currently, that may very well demonstrate what the future of online communities may look like.

How to talk to your GPS

I have recently been trying out some of the latest in car portable navigation systems. Many of these are now voice activated for my convenience of not having to use my hands while driving to configure the device. This is a great idea however current voice technology makes this a poor experience. I can see where this technology is going and how it would be nice in the middle of my route to simply say "find me a Starbucks" and be re-routed to the nearest Starbucks. However this is not quite the experience delivered currently.

I initially thought I would use the voice activation more then I have. And unfortunately more often then not when I do want to use the voice activation it doesn't work. The flip side is that is generally starts working when I don't want it to. An example being that I'm talking on the phone, through my hands free bluetooth device, and in the middle of the call usually with a client or a reporter my GPS will gawk loudly at me "DID YOU SAY CANCEL ROUTE" or my favorite "SAY A COMMAND." Interestingly during a conversation this can happen several times. There have been some times during a less formal conversation when I actually get in an argument with my GPS. It would make a great short video sometime if I have time to have my interns make it this summer.

All that being said the experience still needs to get better and more streamlined. I see where GPS manufacturers are going with the technology but more quality assurance needs to go into these for the price point for the present market.