Six social media trends for 2010

Whoever thought social media would get so big? Well if you didn't predict it, don't feel too bad. You are like most of the Internet public who didn't see a remarkable event coming their way.

The numbers are still coming in, but 2009 saw explosive growth of social media, according to Nielsen Online.

Twitter registered more than 7 million unique visitors in the U.S. just in February and there are plenty more numbers to come. So what will social media look like in 2010? And if you are not onboard this train, you better get to the station really quickly.

A blog on Harvard Business Publishing sets the stage for 2010, giving you an idea of what to watch for and what is likely to be coming your way. It's going to be more popular, more mobile and more exclusive, according to a post by David Armano a member of the founding team at Dachis Group, an Austin-based consulting service delivering social business design services.

Here are his predictions for 2010:

• Social media begins to look less social as groups start to filter out the clutter.
• Corporations jump in as more companies recognize that social networking can serve customers more effectively and leverage cost savings.
• Social networks turn serious as business recognizes the importance of using internal and external networks.
• Your company will formalize a social media policy that includes how employees conduct themselves.
• Mobile becomes a social media lifeline especially for employees whose companies ban them from using social networks during the workday.
• Sharing no longer means email. There likely will be an increase in users to share with their networks what they used to do with email lists.

For more on the explosion of social media:
- check out this Harvard Business Publishing article

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