Is social media sustainable? It has proven current value. But what is the next big thing – where will customers demand the market to meet them? Or more importantly when the “shiny” wears off – how will social media evolve to be fresh?
“When an object of design is long lasting, it has two concurrent effects: first, we gain a respect for its stability and persistence… Second, when we spend time with an object, it takes on the mark of use and so becomes evidence of our existence.” [source] Good design is shown by how long it lasts and the evolution by use. So what is the next logical step for social media?
So all this momentium of where the market is headed sounds great for new business, but where does social media sustainability fall into place?
This week I was watching a Ted Talk by Ellen Dunham-Jones on Retrofitting Suburbia. The gist of the message is using sustainable design in building suburban destinations and retrofitting the dying shopping malls and big box stores into applicable use after they’ve run their course. I immediately saw the parallels between our real life adjustment to sprawling suburbia and how we are adjusting to the invasion of social media.
The combination of low entry costs for the user base and advanced communication tools will drive the simplicity of the message. I believe we will see more applications like Baskin Robbin’s 31 cent icecream used to push brand and experience turning the consumer into the company’s culture. As mobile use increase the use of embedded technology and brand immersion will give rise to reinventing how we research, retrieve and consume information. A proactive message and giving users the ability to personalize and enhance the experience with efficient communication will be the wave of the next big move. A blend of new and old with a faster delivery time. So lets end the work week on a great throwback to understanding how to strive for the next big thing:
Dave McNamara’s fascination with technology began early on as a child, visiting his father at work as a programmer at NASA. Dave is part of the Interactive team working with developing the agency’s web/mobile initiatives and advising on new media strategies. He is graduating this May with an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University concentrating in Information Systems and Security. His perfect morning consists of sipping on a fresh-roasted cup of espresso and listening to old (and new) records.
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