History of the "Social" Web

There are constantly stories about the “social” web — or essentially the ability for two-way communication and interaction between users online, such as on sites like Facebook and Twitter. The internet platform is indeed rare in that it allows this, but it’s not the first or sole platform to. It’s also not new that the web can foster this type of interaction- the capability was in its design from the start and was one of its early user applications. It’s been called “bulletin board,” “message board,” “forum” and “chat room” - and now, “social networking.” But, when you think about it, the function has always been the same since the day the web was born: Someone posts something to a site, people respond (or not). Just like Facebook, Friendfeed or Twitter. 

What IS new in the picture is that the mass population has evolved to where it is actively using these tools. 2005 and Myspace did not usher in a technological revolution online so much as a giant, paradigm shift in how people use the web. In the past, it was email, online shopping, or other “utility” purposes. Today, the web is much more widely used as a form of entertainment, particularly (but not limited to), two-way communication. It’s no wonder people can’t stop talking about it. This migration is huge. 

So, if the web’s social capabilities are not the point, what is? User adoption - or more importantly, what drives it. What moved mass audiences to pick up the internet’s two-way communication functionality and start to use it? Why did it take as long as it had for the mass population to do it? I believe that’s where the lessons are in today’s social web boom. The future is going to bring all kinds of other new ways to use the internet platform, all of which have been in the web’s architecture since the drawing board no matter how new they feel to me or you. The real question is: How do you get users to use them? Answer this and you’ll solve many riddles — and problems — plaguing the business world.