Social Media is Reaching a Saturation Point. Now What?

Forrester Research released a new report on social media that suggests it is reaching a saturation point among online users. Today, per the story in MediaPost, Forrester says 59% of online adults in the U.S. maintain a profile on a social network, which is pushing-up against the 71% of adults that reportedly use a search engine at least once a month.

Three short years ago, also per Forrester, the percentage of U.S. adults maintaining a social media profile was only 25%. The number has doubled since then, the pressurized affect of which has been an ongoing deluge of news about social media, growing concerns among users about privacy (the point that dominates the MediaPost story) and even a movie, with heroes and villains.

Social media has been like so many Internet trends, which aren’t really trends at all. They’re explosions. They erupt, boil over, harden and cool. They ultimately alter the landscape and raise the bedrock of the industry above sea level, one layer at a time. And, they always manage to send people into the streets screaming.

Social media is cooling. Its advance is slowing as it reaches the edges of terrain. Picture a bunch of people with fireproof waders up to their hips wading into the muck with rakes trying to groom the landscape before it’s over and done. “As saturation approaches, increasing the size of your base of fans, followers, and advocates will require new strategies, insights, and tools,” says Forrester analyst, Augie Ray, in the MediaPost story. Social media Joiners are up since 2007 but Spectator behavior is down. The people with rakes will need to hurry.

Then what? What will capture the industry’s attention next, sending people into the streets screaming? And how much longer before the eruptions cease, the foundation sets and the real building begins?

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