The Five Eras of the Social Web

Jeremiah Owyang at Web Strategy blog has an interesting summary of some recent Forrester research:
The Future of the Social Web: In Five Eras
“We found that technologies trigger changes in consumer adoption, and brands will follow, resulting in five distinct waves, they consist of:
The Five Eras of the Social Web:
1) Era of Social Relationships: People connect to others and share
2) Era of Social Functionality: Social networks become like operating system
3) Era of Social Colonization: Every experience can now be social
4) Era of Social Context: Personalized and accurate content
5) Era of Social Commerce: Communities define future products and services
“Today’s social experience is disjointed because consumers have separate identities in each social network they visit. A simple set of technologies that enable a portable identity will soon empower consumers to bring their identities with them — transforming marketing, eCommerce, CRM, and advertising. IDs are just the beginning of this transformation, in which the Web will evolve step by step from separate social sites into a shared social experience. Consumers will rely on their peers as they make online decisions, whether or not brands choose to participate. Socially connected consumers will strengthen communities and shift power away from brands and CRM systems; eventually this will result in empowered communities defining the next generation of products.”
As they say in the longer original posting, expect the groundswell to continue. Five strategies they highlight to
1. Don’t Hesitate
2. Prepare For Transparency
3. Connect with Advocates
4. Evolve your Enterprise Systems
5. Shatter your Corporate Website
Are your libraries preparing for the infinite social web?
Stephen