social_networkingIn trying to solve world peace I was wondering to myself about social networking and where it’s all headed? Not from a specific bias but just as a neutral observer. What could be in store down the line?

To answer this I think we need to summarise where we’re at….Social networks have become, for many people the most interesting side of the Internet and old Web 1.0, which was aimed primarily around information dissemination and corporate advertising, has been incorporated or replaced by the rise of social connectivity. Names like Facebook, Twitter and Google are common language almost anywhere in the world and business are utilizing these and other social platforms, in some cases, as their primary form of attracting their respective target markets. For the first time in history, the world is truly one and geographical boundaries, unless for the purpose of 3-dimensional travel, no longer matter.

So if this is where we are, what is missing from this picture? What doesn’t all of this already provide, where is the gap in the market? Well obviously if I completely knew the answer to this, I would be implementing it right now and in 3-5 years I would sell it to Google and spend the rest of my life wiping my arse with silk.

What I can say is that although social networks have become incredibly sophisticated at connecting us, they still don’t quite understand us, individually. They don’t yet truly know what moves us, what inspires us and what drives us. They certainly allow for this kind of thing to be communicated through various means but they don’t intrinsically know how best to help us change the course of our lives. I think many of us still make our day to day decisions without actually relying on some sort of artificial heuristics engine which has figured out what the best course of action is in any circumstance.

Now if this sounds like AI, then yes it obviously has something to do with that but because social networks are perfectly placed to be the seed of most, if not all, bits of our connected data, then they may be the prime target for aggregation systems to accumulate knowledge on each of us which could in future provide more insights into how each of us think, behave, feel and act then we could ever imagine.

What if the future generations of Facebook type systems could infer from all our connected pieces of data, not just that we have made these certain connections with other people, places and objects in cyberspace but more importantly why. And in doing so, they can accurately map out and predict our path through life based on incalculable (to us) bits and pieces scattered everywhere.

Maybe that information could be used to advise us on situations as and when they happen, be it business, family, relationships or career. Would you trust the advice?

Perhaps systems of this nature could be linked to micro-RFID’s embedded under the skin, so that you and everything about you will be available to all, not just passively though cyberspace but as you traverse the real world…So something like the movie, Minority Report, where you enter a store and as you walk in you are directed to choices that the system is 99.95% sure you will purchase and can afford to purchase….

Good or bad?