The Social Reef An Industry PerspectiveStoryboard #2By Jeremiah Owyang

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The social web industry is a lot like a living reef.

Both are complex ecosystems that undergo constant change.

Let’s explore the ecosystem…

The Key Players

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Fish : People

Fish : People

• Fish are like people, users, or consumers.

• They come in many different colors, sizes and species.

• Collectively, they band together and form communities.

• Species: Over 6.77 billion varieties and counting

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Fishermen : Brands

Fishermen : Brands

• Brands are like fishermen, they are constantly seeking fish.

• They try many different tactics to reach fish, some are successful and many not.

• As brands come, some fish are scared away, while others are attracted.

• Species: Dell, P&G, Wells Fargo, Starbucks, Ford.

The Incumbents

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CMS : Rocks

CMS : Rocks

• Content Management Systems (CMS) are like rocks, a stable web publishing system powering brand websites.

• These slower moving web systems will struggle with adapting to the social web.

• As a result, these systems are developing social features –or will soon acquire them.

• Species: Vignette, Interwoven, Documentum, Fatwire, Percussion

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CRM : Octopus

CRM : Octopus

• Customer Relationship Systems (CRM) are like octopuses, they’re reaching to multiple systems to grab data.

• Soon, they will develop features to enable brands to better find prospects, market, and support communities.

• Expect to see more partnership between CRM systems and social networks and community platforms.

• Species: Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, and Rightnow.

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Brand Monitoring : Jellyfish

Brand Monitoring : Jellyfish

• Brand monitoring firms are like jellyfish, they rapidly absorb information.

• These firms are quickly tying with CMS systems, or developing their own features.

• Brands need these firms to find fish.• Species: Nielsen BuzzMetrics, TNS

Cymfony, Dow Jones Insight, J.D. Power & Associates, Visible Technologies, and Radian 6.

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Agencies : Starfish

Agencies : Starfish

• Agencies and consultants are like starfish, close to the customers and vendors on the reef.

• Currently, there are armies of individual consultants and a variety of firms appearing both pure play social media services and traditional agencies that are offering social services.

• Expect consultants to band together to create new agencies, with rapid change over the next few years.

• Species: Federated Media, Chris Brogan, see Charlene Li’s list of consultants for a larger list http://wiki.altimetergroup.com

• Credit to Christine Fife for this submission.

The Challengers

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Social Networks : Kelp Forest

Social Networks : Kelp Forest

• Social Networks are like kelp forests, a rapidly changing haven for communities to assemble.

• These ever-wavering communities are thriving with customers –yet are fragile and young.

• As a result, brands try to fish –often unsuccessfully in these forests.

• Species: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn

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Community Platforms : Coral

Community Platforms : Coral

• Community Platforms are like coral, which allow any brand to have their own social network.

• These living organisms attract customers, bringing them closer to brands, soon they will be tightly integrated with CMS systems (rocks).

• A shakeout is due in this overcrowded space of over 100 players.

• Species: Jive, Telligent, Mzinga, Awareness, Liveworld, Lithium, Leverage, Kickapps, Pluck

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Applications : Anemones

Applications : Anemones

• Applications are like anemones, ever-moving with limitless varieties.

• These applications are depending on social networks (kelp), but will soon extend to community platforms (coral) and cms (rock).

• People and applications are dependent on each other.

• Species: Slide, RockYou, Widgetbox, Gigya, Clearspring, and Newsgator.

External Factors

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Venture Capital : Algae

Venture Capital : Algae

• Venture Capital is like algae, injecting needed resources into the ecosystem for growth.

• Venture capital fuel social networks, applications, community platforms –even during a recession.

• Venture capital influences deals, partnerships, and vendor strategy.

• Species: August, Benchmark, Allegis, Scale, and Garage.

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Detractors: Pollution

Detractors : Pollution

• Detractors are like water pollution, they clog up the system and someone has to clean it up.

• Wherever communities thrive, detractors infiltrate.

• As a result, the system is forever trying to expel the unwanted.

• Species: Trolls, Spammers, Hackers.

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A-Listers : Blowfish

A-Listers : Blowfish

• A-Listers are like blowfish, as they vie for others attention, yet inflate when defensive.

• These influencers are essential for new technology adoption –yet many tools are never adopted by the mainstream.

• Approach with caution, many cause indigestion if consumed.

• Species: Although few in numbers, they are easily identified with distinguishable loud markings.

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Recession : Low Tide

Recession : Low Tide

• The recession is like a low tide, forcing innovation and bringing the ecosystem closer.

• Consumers have increased their adoption of social technologies: they connect to each other, learn from one another, and some have…more time.

• As a result, it will force species to adapt to their environment with fewer resources and more competitors.

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Industry Analyst : Marine Biologist

Industry Analyst : Marine Biologist

• Industry analysts are like marine biologists, who examine, identify, and analyze the ecosystem.

• We share our findings with our clients, so they can be successful in their decision making.

• Industry analysts who cover the ever-changing social reef struggle to keep up with this nascent industry.

• As a result, they resort to slideshows filled with colorful pictures to explain what they do to their friends and family.

• Species: Forrester, Gartner, IDC, eMarketer, Compete, Redmonk, and Comscore.

Summary

• The social reef impacts personal, business, and family lives as it’s the first global, multi-directional, yet openly public communication technology.

• The social web is an ever-changing space –perhaps the fastest changing industry the world has ever seen.

• Despite the attention and growth, this reef struggles with monetization, privacy, and cultural boundaries.

• Each of these organisms are starting to connect to each other sharing data, as a result these relationships form even more complex dependencies.

• Expect this space to continue to innovate rapidly over the next few years, eventually, this industry will mature, as these communication tools become ubiquitous.

Come swim with me.

Jeremiah Owyang

web-strategist.com/blog

@jowyang

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