Marcus Cake

online social networks will drive a significant lift in productivity over the next decade. The internet will be essential to coordinating these networks. online social networks which have a purpose to facilitate business to business transactions may be called B2B E-markets. B2B :emarkets: are forecast to have the greatest impact of any technology over the coming years and will impact most industries.

Current online social networks

Online social networks have been responsible for building complex technologies like Linux and tens of thousands of applications. Open source is a is a philosophy or methodology for developing products. Open source software is the most prominent face of open source and software developers use web sites like Sourceforge.net to coordinate the development of many complex projects.

Emerging online social networks

Open source philosophies, best known for open source software, will begin to have a big impact and will feature prominently in future business models. The Linux desktop has become a viable replacement for “Windows open source software can be used to run many facets of major businesses. Google has captured the imagination of investors and consumers and become a global company within a very short company. Many industries are looking at what Google may do to their industry. These industries are responding to this potential threat by moving online first. Google can not, ofcourse, challenge every industry, but it is inspiring many industries to challenge their own business models before others do. There is, however, a natural limit to the degree to which an incumbent industry player can challenge its own business model. There will be many other internet players that will rise to challenge the status quo. The Open source philosophy, best known for open source software, will feature prominently in future business models.

Why now?

online social networks have the opportunity to transform industry now because of the following factors:-

• the maturation of key technologies which allow every individual to capture, store, process and transmit information like a multi-national corporation
• the penetration of broadband internet to the home and business
• the increasing proportion of economic activity and everyday life that is information based
• the comfort with which the vast majority of consumer use computers and the internet
• the stronger desire by many works to work from home and business opportunities to reduce costs through teleworking and the use of freelancers

How will these online social networks be different?

online social networks have existed for many years. They have taken the form of instant messaging, forums for and some web sites that allow users to interact. The greatest impact of technology to date has been on personal productivty and within existing organisational structures. online social networks have mostly been personal. A list of online social network sites is available here.

online social networks will be increasingly used to facilitate new organisational structures to support business to business (B2B) transactions or leverage the collective knowledge of a group for greater innovation. Online social networks are moving beyond personal applications to business and industrial use. We are at an early stage of this evolution. Industries fundamentally still operate in the same way.

Example: an online social network to replace the music industry

The music industry has been endeavouring to protect its ownership of music and has taken action against parties that may be involved in file sharing of copyright works.

There is one fundamental question - What is it that the music industry does the for the global community? It does two things - it invests in new artists so they can produce music, and it distributes their music on a global stage. Their are real alternatives to both these functions which could render the music industry redundant. Firstly, sound recording and production now cost a fraction of what it used to. Music could be “manufactured” by the artists themselves using a :desktopcomputer: and some freelancers. Secondly, the internet is a great medium for distributing music. An :onlinesocialnetwork” could coordinate all elements of the music manufacture and distribution process.

A music artist (aspiring or established) could go to Fictitiousmusicsocialnetwork.com and use the following web applications :

• search an online directory for some investors that may invest in me as an artist (if required),
• search for experts to help me write and record my music. Review their profiles, check their availability and coordinate a place to meet
• download open source software to set up a server to sell my music to the world
• review the profiles on online marketing experts
• download a standard contracts that are needed to be an artist
• read an online article “How to negotiate with ITunes and get listed”

In short, the artist could own their own music and sell it to the world with the help of some freelancers.

Which industries are likely to be changed?

Industries are more likely to be challenged by online social networks where:

• the more that industry is composed of information, rather than physical product
• The more an industry is based on a closed system
• the more industry is based on proprietary technologies

online social networks are likely to be more efficient at manufacturing and distributing information, an open system welcoming all participants and transparent. Industries are likely to significantly threatened by these new business models. Consumers may be offered more convenient means to purchase, at lower cost using Open source philosophies that may deliver greater customer satisfaction. Government may allow people to benefit from economic development, although some industries may perish or need to evolve in the short term.