Recently, Mashable published an article regarding 4 web trends to watch in the future.  It was not a despondent foreshadowing like 1984 or another forlorn Brave New World, instead the article predicted some very reasonable trends on the web.  The most important, and thus the reason for this article, is the predicted longevity of social media.

In the last year, Nielson shows that social media usage has increased by 82%.  Consider the online interaction on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook.  Ponder the millions of blogs. What can we deduce?  It’s obvious that we are social creatures seeking relationships, attention and affirmation from others.  The question is, how do we effectively achieve these relationships in today’s world of Smartphone’s, tablets, laptops and the remarkable ability to know what everyone is doing at any given time?  The answer seems to be Social Media.  And it’s here to stay.

This conclusion does no come unfounded.  Sure, it’s clear social media is on the rise, but how will it sustain growth?  Here are a couple reasons why it’s only getting more popular.

Currently, many of us use our Smartphone’s to access the internet when we are aren’t by a computer; we will soon use tablets and other forms of media.  The web will be accessible everywhere.

Apple Tablet

In 2008, the FCC held an auction for the 700 MHz wireless spectrum that detailed a nationwide Wi-Fi program.  The idea received momentous attention.  To give an example, Google was one of the multi-billion dollar bidders.  In five or ten years, it’s likely that people will scoff at the time when laptops were unable to receive Wi-FI or 4G.  Which brings up an important consideration.  These clunky metal machine’s we lug to work will likely take a back seat to emerging hardware.

T.V’s will allows us to browse the internet and tablets will likely have 3G access.  Many of us access the Internet on our phones more often than computers; 80% of tweets are from mobile devices.  As devices change, we will see more touchscreens and alternatives to the keyboard and mouse.  Already we’ve seen HP’s Wall of Touch and Project Natal.

The emerging interfaces focus on the ease of viewing videos, images and music – all in the name of making social media more accessible.  We are observing the beginnings of a social revolution driven by online networking.  It’s not going away.  Instead, it’s shaping the future of technology.

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