Absolutely. We are, at the moment, within a significant shift in the way people use the internet…it feels like this discussion is the prelude to the prelude of what might one day be called web 3.0.

Ross, you’re right when you say that what is happening in social networking is a fantastic case study relevant to all business segments. The reason for this is that it is about online relationships becoming more like offline relationships – in the same way that Cluetrain was about making business human!

If you have time, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Open Messaging (something that we’re talking/writing about and developing all at the same time) at https://www.nakedyak.com/?cat=15.
Take it easy
~biff~

It could still take a while, however. After all, we don’t yet have universal interoperability for IM.

Nonetheless, the endgame is clear. In the future, the phrase “social networks” will mean what it meant before Friendster — the connections you make with people you know. The tools that allow you to do this will not be the network; they’ll be interoperable conduits, like those that are provided by telcos today.