Lots of Buzz

Facebook, Qzone, Habbo, MyScace, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, Buzz. and list goes on. There are N social networks existing and most likely one or two appears and disappears every day.

Some bloggers like Zengeström argue that these companies are creating silos with aim of "total domination of social web". It is easy to agree on this in principle levels since fundamental drivers for business is to win market place with their offering. As an solution for alleged problem of silos or total domination web community is trying to standardize the social networks.

It does not make any sense. Social (Inter)networks are places where people communicate and have conversations in context of the social network. Analog of early days of mobile communication where people could not call from one cellular carrier to other have nothing to do with social (Inter)network world. More proper analogue can be found from social (realworld)networks.

You are most likely to have totally different type of conversations with your friends 2AM in night club than with the same people during coffee break on a working day. There is no need to standardize and have means of transferring all conversations, status updates, of previous evening of Night Club social (realworld) network to Work social (realworld)network. "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". In a similar manner there is no need to share conversation of Facebook social (Inter)network to professional LinkedIn social (Inter)network. Social network is a place.

One could consider silos as clubs, restaurants, work places, parks, public places and private places. It is not bad thing to have closed club, everyone is not interested in hanging in a park, some of us want to go to slow food restaurant for others faster is just ok. No standards needed just freedom to select where to communicative, where to have conversations and where to share the communications.

And yes if you want to have conversation with tribe man in Congo silos can do that as well. Just enter the tribe and keep the conversation live.