The future of social networking.

These days you hear a lot of chat about Myspace and Facebook and all of these social networking sites that are only trying to make already existing ways of contact with another person 'better.' What do I mean? Well, before Myspace there were text messages, and before that, AIM, MSN and Yahoo profiles, and before that emails, and before that, IRC. Maybe not in that order, and to some people one might be more important than the other or offer actual improvements that made it worth use, but in all truths they just added another layer on top of an already simple form of communication. Talking to the person. That's right, making a phone call. Well fear not! For in my opinion things will soon come around full circle!

When you think about it, with every year that goes by, our lives are increasingly dependent on those little electronic devices known as cell phones. Some have even started making phones called smart phones, because they do phone calls, email/text messages, surf the net, find food and movies and much more. Not really smart, just well rounded and useful! So there you have it. A home address, a phone number, an email address, an MSN messenger and AIM screen name, a Myspace page, maybe even a Facebook page and a .com .net site. Add a blog in there just to make it complete. All these sites to keep track of, to update; even worse, to keep up with all the friends you can't just call anymore you have to go here, and there, and back again. Why? why why why? Because someone set these sites up to make a few pennies off of you! Its all pointless, really! You have all these numbers/screen names identifying you online. Well, why not bring it all back down to just one important number? Your phone number.

Right now, you can call or send a message to my phone number and I will get it instantly. I might not reply right away, but I will get it. So as phones become more sophisticated, and the developers behind them overcome the hurdle of user interface (i.e., reinventing the keyboard because it can only be so small), the use for the PC really dwindles down to a few things. Intense graphic arts, gaming (which is quickly being replaced by consoles like Xbox, Wii and PS), and lower level development to name a few.

What I see happening is this. As phones become something much greater than the term 'phone' allows for, even PDA wont cut it. These devices will truly be part of us, maybe even attached! I see the phone number becoming as all important as the social security number. It has already been setup so that if you leave T-mobile and go to Verizon you can keep your number. So you enter this number into your device and it pulls up that person's profile. On this profile you can send messages, make a phone call, request meetings, or anything else you can imagine. You can add your profile to any social network you please. Looking for dates? Put your number in the 'looking for dates' category. Need a job? Post your number in a job finding service. Your phone number becomes you. Your age, height, hair color, right down to where you can be found on Friday night, if you so wish to disclose such information. And with it all being in one nice spot, existing social networking sites, instant messengers, and web based email providers all have a really hard future.

So, to all of you anti-Myspace folks out there, think of it like this. Anyone who has one of those really nasty Myspace pages is in for quite a shock. Imagine having to give your Myspace page to a potential employer. HA! And to all of you who are happy with the way things are, and/or love your myspace page expect changes. Expect Myspace and Facebook and any other profile/social networking site to die out.

Anyway, computers are getting more costly every day. Why spend thousands of dollars on a computer that sits at home, or a laptop that in all honesty isn't getting much smaller when compared to what an already tiny smart phone can do? Processors and hard drives will soon be as small as they can be while holding as much data as they can. There is a limit. Don't believe me? Look up Moore's Law!

Check this out!
http://www.gadgets-reviews.com/index.php?page=post&id=463

Things are changing and it wont be long before this change comes full circle right back to a starting point.