One of the conclusions that can be drawn from the comScore Media Metrix analysis for the month of May is the continuous growth of social networking. According to Stowe Boyd in his post “The Rise of Web Culture and Its Enemies”:
This is an implicit rejection of the controlled media depiction of purpose and meaning in our lives, a turning away from centralized organizations telling us what is important or how to live our lives. These social sites are not merely some way for venture capitalists to make money, or for faddish clicques to indulge in marginal lifesyles. This is the start of a new global culture…
He goes on to describe this global culture emerging on the web:
it is based on openness, inclusion, acceptance of diversity, and the desire to make the world a better place to live. This movement is driven both by the failure of traditional organizations — media, government, and religious — to cope with the modern world, and the stresses we, as individuals, are confronted with.
Stressed individuals frustrated with traditional organizations? I can think of one demographic group: immigrants.
Using as an example a country like Canada, which expects to receive over 215,000 immigrants during 2006 (reported by immigration.ca), it is imperative that as many of these people as possible are empowered to assume the challenge with a “self-service” attitude, without expecting their lives to be organized by traditional institutions. I believe an emergent web culture that emphasizes building social networks can provide an important mechanism for these new immigrants to figure things out and start a new life, while also aligning their skills with those that seem to be gaining strength among North Americans.
This projects exists at the intersection of that wave of migration with the web culture that promotes the use of social networking skills. Through education and proper use of the tools available we can make a difference. We can help shape the new global culture.
[...] social networking skills [...]