The End of the Social Media Era

The End of Social Media: It looks like the social media era is winding to a close. That’s not to say that Web personalization will end or the consumption of content based on social graphs. That’s becoming a given. Think about Spotify. Logging onto the music service with Facebook credentials instantly gives users the ability to peruse and subscribe to their friends’ playlists. That kind of sharing would have been remarkable not long ago, but it’s now become expected. VC Mark McNamee makes the point that social is now a feature, not a product, so entrepreneurs should look elsewhere for opportunities. That’s particularly noteworthy because McNamee is a Facebook backer. He makes some other interesting points on media, including the notion that HTML5 will give publishers opportunities to make money outside of the display ad system.

Quote of the Day: Forrester Research analyst Michael Greene, in an interview with AdExchanger, doesn’t think ad exchange ad buying is going to help bring brands online en masse. “The ugly truth is that the digital media industry has created an environment that’s crappy for brands. Cluttered websites, lackluster ad formats, and poor measurement practices mean that it’s simply too difficult for brands to deliver and confirm the emotional response they are looking for.”

In Defense of Hierarchy: It’s refreshing in a time when everyone preaches the wisdom of flat organization — the flatter the better — to hear a progressive company leader sound the warning. Barbarian Group’s Webb knows firsthand how a company can unintentionally sow chaos by not paying attention to old-fashioned things like job titles and managing people closely. Webb’s experience is that despite what they might say, people want to be managed and appreciate the clarity that comes with job titles.