Libra rules socializing while Saturn is associated with building and structure. With Saturn transiting Libra, many are building a social network to support their business. This is true for the individual as well as other entities like Google with it’s Google+. It’s a given this continue into 2012 but when Saturn leaves Libra for Scorpio, in October, I would expect to see a shift.
The shift will be away from the superficial and when this happens, I don’t think anyone will mind. It’s not that social networking is a waste. But it’s just a step on path of where we’re going.
What do you see as the future of social networking?
14 Responses to “The Future Of Social Networks”
Great topic Elsa! I can’t wait for the shift into Scorpio. BRING IT ON. I am tired of people asking me to be their friend who I never even met! And even better example, an individual who tried to jeopardize my job, JUST sent me a friend request on FB. WTF!
I want the in-your-face truth back, even if it’s ugly. No more of this fluffy nice shit for the sake of fluff. I want assholes to be assholes and not pretend to “like” me because you simply want to increase the number of friends you have.
From a business perspective, same applies. In the industry I work in, it’s been exhausting to deal with. And the funny thing is… I was asking folks in their 20s what they think about social networking, something they always knew and the answer was anticlimatic from one young man. He said, “I don’t know what the big deal is about “Getting Social seminars” that is being held by a man 2 generations older than him. “All you have to be is nice to people and they will be nice back – say hi when they say hi and be friendly”, “I just went to the seminar to get my free t-shirt, it wasn’t anything groundbreaking, the guy is getting famous among his own aged peers for telling people to be nice and use FB”. He shrugged his shoulders and left.
On LINKED-IN, I see more and more people asking, “why do you want to connect with me”? qualifying the connection. If there is real business to do together, prove it.
I know what you guys mean, as far as superficiality in Facebook ‘friends’. I have a Libra moon, and prefer to only ‘friend’ or be ‘friended’ by folks that I have a real connection to. Social networking sites should be able to bridge geographic divides and provide some light entertainment, I don’t see anything wrong with that, or why it should change. However, ‘collecting’ friends for the sake of appearing popular is really the same kind of posing that happens in real-life social climbing, isn’t it ? I guess if peeps are using FB and its counterparts in a similar way to how I am, it may not change much; but yeah, I could see where the fluff would get squeezed down to something more substantial. I’m kind of looking forward to it, actually.
I only know about 20% of my fb friends. It’s so overwhelming, I am only there once a month.
I signed onto google + but it’s just one guy promoting himself for the most part so not compelling. I understand others may pay more attention though so it is good if you want to get the word out about something.
Twitter, on the other hand, I really like. I guess you could say it’s the most superficial of all and I am not sure what all it does but it is the only feed I monitor regularly (unless I get swamped).
That is another thing I notice. When I am swamped, this stuff goes out the window, not last but first so that’s an indication of it’s worth to me.
I despise social networking. I hate the fake friendships, I hate the “blast from the past” people that I wish hadn’t shown up, I hate hate hate short updates that apparently erode people’s interest and ability to write anything longer than 140 characters. I hate it all and I don’t WANNA participate and I know damn well I’ll be forced to and it’s a miracle nobody’s forced me to tweet yet.
Grrrr. I want it gone. I want paragraphs to come back into vogue already.
I can see why people hate Facebook. Like you guys said already, it’s an egofest.
But I like Facebook because it connects me to people I haven’t seen in 15+ years.
Le_Soleil. The word POSER is perfect!
I think that we just might all realize how useful social networking is ‘when there’s a need’ for it.
Right now, it’s in it’s infancy, it’s silly almost in a way, a popularity contest in another.
But, just imagine if all of a sudden cell phones were cut off, and we had only very limited electricity and internet access… Then, just how useful do you think this sort of networking might prove to be?
Getting the message out to neighbors about resources available and where… passing news of family members onto other family that are far away and worrying… Live sightings of news that is coming from ground zero instead of mainstream media…
What if a warning needed to be made and it was impossible to accomplish face to face, yet in mere seconds, news could be passes via friend networks, twitter, etc…
I might also mention the ‘cloud’… And how handy that might prove to be ‘if’ buildings/computers that now host our documents were to be destroyed or otherwise inaccessible… being able to access documents virtually from anywhere just might save the day some day.
Just my 2cents.
Well, I hate facebook. The thing that bothers me the most about it is that I don’t see how it’s different from the internet in general really except that people who aren’t your “friends” can’t see what’s on your page and this is just silly. It’s a limiting function, exclusive, not an inclusive one.
My favorite thing about the internet before it got weird was that you could meet new people and make new connections totally outside your sphere of influence. Like say you were me at the time, a housewife home with a four year old, but because of your writing style and your interest in certain topics you ended up on the horn with people from MIT and fantasy RPG gamers. That’s how real time instant communication can open up your life.
“Facebook” — social networking in general — limits peoples’ exposure to new groups and new perspectives. You don’t “run into” people online the way you used to, and that’s just a shame.
I’ve been seeing a trend towards people becoming “social media coordinators” and treating this as if it’s the big career of the future. The basic problem is, the more you chatter about your product, the more visible and “present” you’ll appear — everything online has to be freshly updated. And the problem with that is, who has time to do that?
So you have to hire somebody to be face and mood and persona of your organization, who updates twitter and blogs once a day about your plumbing supplies and whatever, writes press releases and makes connections *for* you on facebook.
K. How is this different from sales? Marketing? PR? It’s the same job. Only difference is now it’s free to put up 140 character ads in a public space as many times a day as you want.
I think the future of social networking is going to be to continue to narrow the scope of peoples’ interactions just the way they’ve always been narrowed: by age, by income, by interest, by class, by race, by geography and by language. I think the promise of really being able to communicate across *all* barriers will just keep eroding.
It’s not. It’s all the same thing.
Oops — stick that last sentence up a couple paragraphs….I’ve been doing that lately…
I think it’s what you make of it. I have very few “friends’, so it really is people I want to be in touch with. Quick posts to various far-flung family members, including quickies to the nieces and nephews, funnies with my siblings- plus, friends that are far and from the past- my old neighborhood, for example. Without FB I would not EVER be in touch with so many of them- and they are a link to the past for me. One neighbor’s dad just turned 80, and through her I sent him a funny reminder from about 40 years ago– that guy is going to get a real warm fuzzy from that! And it felt good to connect. People from school- eh, it can be interesting in some cases, and with age- no competition or weirdness, I find.
Plus frankly I like efficiency and to have everyone corralled in one place where I can stay on top and reply if need be- I love it. I also plan more social get togethers because they are accessible. Calls, letters, invitations- to coordinate a dinner out with a bunch of people w/o email, texting, FB- so much more involved.
I shy away from the “look at me” thing on Facebook, although I’ve posted a few things when looking for help. I post mostly links that might interest others, and like it when conversation is generated in the comments. I remember thinking about keeping a blog so that others could see (words + pictures) some of the things that were happening for us here, but it felt too cold – I prefer letters, cards, email, etc.
will be great time then.
Do you think when saturn moves into Scorpio the dark side of the internet will be revealed. With video game addiction, porn addiction, and living through our virtual selves. I think many people will realize how little we actually live in the real world and interact emotionally with those in our lives. Just a thought.
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I hope it goes away actually. It’s like a massive “LOOK AT ME ME ME ME” festival.
Things like this blog with the forum, that’s worthwhile. It’s discussion, depth, true relating.
Facebook, Google+….if I know you that well to share something with – pick up the damn phone and call me. This stuff is really getting on my nerves