Tonight I’m speaking to Social Media Club Omaha at Nomad Lounge in conjunction with Mashable’s Social Media Day.
For this talk I’ve been asked to focus on what’s trending and what’s next in the SM space, which is a great opportunity for me to step back, wipe the PowerPoint deck clean and start new.
(Speaking of PowerPoint, I’ve ditched it to experiment with Prezi – a non-linear, slide-less presentation platform. Is anyone else using this? I love it so far.)
I’ll be focusing on 10 predictions – three of which I’ve outlined below. The remaining seven (and the Prezi) will get posted after the talk is done! If you’re in the Omaha area, I hope to see you tonight. Don’t forget to RSVP on Facebook.
Prediction #1: The word social media will soon go away. I’m not saying it isn’t vital, but there’s a lot of unicorn baggage that goes along with the word. The Web has been inherently social since day one, when the first email was sent decades ago. Social applications are being integrated into every layer of business, from human resources to customer service (and, oh yeah, that marketing stuff). Let’s go back to calling it the Internet.
Prediction #2: Facebook as an identity company. That’s how the social network is describing itself these days. In the next decade, your Facebook ID will become just as important as your driver’s license, social security number, email address and phone number. (At least, that’s Facebook’s vision – they want to be your car keys to the entire Web and all of its applications.) Open Graph, Project Titan and Facebook Credits will all play in to this, long-term.
Prediction #3: Finance will be the next industry disrupted by the Internet. There is a tremendous amount of innovation happening in the finance space right now, with smart tools like Mint.com, and (here come some local shout-outs) SmartyPig and Dwolla. These companies are helping consumers get smarter with their money and laying new infrastructure for Whuffie-ish peer-to-peer payment systems. We all joke about Farmville, but I truly believe it is a microcosm of social commerce – and it’s just getting started.
Gotta run. I’ll post the remaining predictions soon. See you tonight, Omaha!
