When Social Networks Become the Web’s Front Door

Posted by: Scott Johnson, Co-Founder and Principal May 11, 2009 0 Comments

Last week’s BusinessWeek article by Jeffrey F. Rayport is simply titled “How Social Networks are Changing Everything,” and I think he may be right. The article contends that the big four gateways—Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and AOL (yes, AOL) are soon to be joined, if not superseded by social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace.

Rayport believes that as people are able to travel among social networks with a single “social graph,” they will have fewer reasons to look outside the network to meet their needs. Because of the networks’ rich communication features, unique content, and e-commerce partnerships, users can chat with their friends, check out their latest photos, news, and opinions, and see what books or shoes they’re buying—all within the context of the social environment.

This leads me to the conclusion that savvy businesses and agencies are already making plans to position themselves within social networks so that if/when these networks become the new “front door” of the Web, they’re ready to maximize the value of the new visitor pathway. If your boss doesn’t find social media relevant, ask him if he’ll say the same thing when it serves as the entry portal of choice for most Web users. It isn’t too far away.

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Scott Johnson

Co-Founder and Principal

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