Social Networking Becoming Old Technology In A Hurry

Social networking site Facebook could very well be "so 2007," as organizations move away from so-called "silly Web 2.0 trends" and toward common-sense business practices.

"People are getting a little bit more realistic about what things do and what they don't," said Alan Pelz-Sharpe, principal at CMS Watch. For instance, the idea of supplementing or replacing your organization's Intranet with Facebook may have sounded like a great idea (read: it's free) in 2007, but users are finding it simply doesn't work. "People are starting to see the limitations of this sort of thing."

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Pelz-Sharpe, along with seven other principals at the Olney, Md.-based vendor-neutral analyst firm, provided 11 predictions for content technologies in 2008. Some predictions are negative (the spectacularly successful Microsoft Sharepoint may disappoint) and some are positive (new opportunities emerge in search, archiving and Web analytics), but in the end, maintains Pelz-Sharpe, they are only predictions.

The 11 predictions are:

1. Archiving becomes a prime focus for ECM vendors. For years, ECM (enterprise content management is used for managing documents and content) vendors have been trying to get users to manage documents via their systems, but have only found a market with so-called "Power Users," or larger organizations with serious document management needs.

As the need to shift large volumes of dated and dormant data to compliant archives is becoming an IT priority, in 2008 we will see a repositioning among established ECM vendors from managing active information to the archiving of redundant information.

2. Google will make a bid to become the world's content repository. In a sense, Google is attempting to become a one-stop shop for search, applications, word processing, and for storing an organization's information. It may be very appealing to smaller organizations seeking low-cost services, but searching the web and reliably storing enterprise information are two very different things.

3. Sharepoint enters the valley of disappointment. MOSS (Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server), a low-cost, low-touch document collaboration system, has been one of the company's biggest successes. But as small- and medium-size organizations grow and continue to use MOSS, they're starting to see the limitations. In 2008, we will start to see a noticeable backlash, particularly among larger, growing organizations.

4. Return of the buyers' market. Content technologies have always been expensive, sometimes shockingly so. As choices abound, in the coming year buyers will have some really strong leverage when it comes to bargaining with vendors. For instance, we could very well see a face-off between the expensive vendors and the open-source vendors.

5. "Web 2.0" exhaustion. The realization that Web 2.0 is not a silver bullet will finally crystallize.

6. Social software vendor collision. Organizations went mad over Web 2.0 technologies during 2007, the two big names among them being Linked In and Facebook.

In 2008, new vendors looking to translate their experience into supporting collaboration and networking on organizational Intranets will collide with the old applications. The key to sorting it out: proper business scenario analysis. Meantime, Facebook will serve as a kind of laboratory.

7. Facebook backlash. The number of small organizations with a Facebook page is astronomical. And search any well-known nonprofit, they're sure to have a page - or two...or three.

In 2008, organizations that previously saw Facebook as a cheap and easy way to network socially and share information will start implementing stricter policies and start "tidying up." The reason: there are rules around information sharing, and when these things start growing and spreading (read above: two...or three), what you've got is a compliance nightmare. Next year, security will also become a bigger focus.

8. Security and identity management trump functionality. It might be the coolest application you've ever seen - but how secure exactly is it? These days, information exists on the network, and securing that is a bigger challenge than if it was located in a room somewhere in your building.

9. Finally bridging Web analytics and online marketing. 2007 was the year that Web analytics vendors talked about tighter integration with online marketing vendors. 2008 will be the year that organizations begin to buy into the promise of this integration.

10. Search is dead...Not! Both in the IT world and around the industry people have been saying search is dead, that there's no room for growth because Google and Microsoft already do it best. Not the case within the organizational, or enterprise, search, which is still "messy" and "difficult," and could use a lot of improving.

11. Productization of search platforms. A follow-up to prediction #10, organizations with complex search needs used to spend the bulk of their money on consultants to build our the software and make it work for the organization. In 2008, expect to see vendors "productize" their platforms and make them more preconfigured and out-of-the-box.

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This article is from NPT TechnoBuzz, a publication of The NonProfit Times.

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