A good example of how so much of our understanding of technology use is largely anecdotal and why we need more formal research to gain a better understanding of what is really happening with learner views of technology (the article cites statistics about declining rates of interest, inability to convert social network sites ads into revenue…but fails to address why…and what it means): Generation MySpace Is Getting Fed Up: “The MySpace generation may be getting annoyed with ads and a bit bored with profile pages. The average amount of time each user spends on social networking sites has fallen by 14% over the last four months, according to market researcher ComScore.”
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As you point out, the real question is “Is social networking a trend past its prime, or is MySpace a social networking site that has lost its connection with its users?”
This requires looking at many different kinds of social networking sites in addition to MySpace and Facebook. (And market researchers and advertisers should stop trying to take the easy way out and actually do their own researching!)
I can see two reasons why the amount of time spent on social networking sites would be decreasing. First, users might be getting more efficient. Familiarity tends to speed things up. Secondly, they might be finding more interesting things to do. If so, I’m guessing it has something to do with the cell phone.
Can you tell I’m catching up in Google Reader tonight?
This isn’t surprising, but what I really want to know is what MySpacers are migrating to. More of a small pieces approach? More focused, passion-based networks? If Matthew is right (and I think he is) how are those “more interesting” things playing out?