The rapid growth of social networking, epitomized by Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, You-Tube and other user-generated content systems, have become, according to some observers, a new medium for communication, equivalent to the Web, television, and FTF conversation.
An article in the Los Angeles Times on March 24, 2009, explored some opinions on one of these new systems -- the SMS-based Twitter.
The Times claimed "the once tiny Twitter has grown like a magic beanstalk into a full- fledged communications medium -- taking its place alongside Webpages, e-mail, and maybe even television. And though the 30 person, San Francisco start-up is not exactly General Electric, digital trust-busters believe the same rules apply: One company shouldn’t have a monopoly."
Monopoly? Twitter has had competition, notably the now-defunct Pownce, but as with many of these new systems of connection, Twitter attracted the lion’s share of users and thus developed into an unchallenged system.
We could argue the same about Facebook which at this date has outpaced Google as the most vis-ited site on the web. The possibilities for using and appropriating content on such sites far outstrips the possibilities offered by “old media,” a situation that suggests a new paradigm has emerged.