Consumers bored, wall of authority crumbles - long live digital, social media

As the world witnesses the African revolution being tweeted, Facebooked and broadcast live on cellphones, analysts warn that, if it is happening in Tunisia and Egypt, it can happen anywhere there is an Internet connection and a smartphone. [Or access to a landline to leave voicemail which will then be turned into tweets, thanks to Google and Twitter launching @speaktotweet- managing ed.] Facebook and Twitter are being used in the Middle East to invite people to participate massively in the fight against oppression and injustice.

According to Knight, 18% of all phones sold in South Africa in 2010 were smartphones.

Stakes are high

And when Facebook becomes the world's third-largest country, the stakes are high as 'social citizens' - mostly the youth - bond to seek ways of consolidating their presence and a greater voice in issues affecting their lives.

Said Knight: "Social networkers will be exploring more niche communities or alternatives that offer greater exclusivity or privacy. There are plenty of options including DIY social networks and invite-only offerings. Many things happening in the digital space have a big impact on the physical, specifically when it comes to urban art."

Now there are fears that the rise of social media and its endless opportunities might endanger the reputation of email and possibly pave the way to its demise. "Will email be denounced by all as 'old technology'?" Knight asked.

According to Facebook, email is about to become yesterday's technology, he said, adding that latest figures say that only 11% of teenagers email daily.

"Slow decline of email"

"The majority of teens now communicate via social networks and SMS rather than email. Therefore, in 2011 we will begin to see the slow decline of email as the main digital communication tool," he said emotionally, as if predicting a major earthquake. "Facebook's 'social inbox' that integrates chat, texts and email into the user's inbox is just the start."

He said search engine will return results based on the Facebook "Likes" of the searcher's friends.

"Twitter updates included in search returns. Individualised search results go to the next level: results moulded by and for the searcher's existing social footprint. Search becomes more fluid and focused and results depend on the social as well as technical currency of the brand, product or category."

But, the downside of anything good is that it sometimes leads to abuse, paving the way to secondary effects. Knight called it digital intrusions, which has gripped many people around the world, mostly the young ones. He said a US study found that 11% of people under age 25 feel it is okay to interrupt sex to check an electronic message.

"Several forms of digital addiction"

"Academics are recognising several forms of digital addiction, including to the Internet, mobile phones and Facebook," he said.

Furthermore, Knight said the evolution of society also spelt the end of verticals. "What if there were no such thing as television, print, web and radio? What if they were all just one big blob of media?" he wondered.

"On a web-enabled, back-lit device, the difference between DStv, Time magazine, 702 and News24 are tough to discern. Each has video, audio, text, social media and pictures. All can be navigated effortlessly by the swipe of a finger."