Social Trends Fuel Technology’s Changing Role
Concurrent with key technologies hitting stride with the mainstream population, important social
changes also are adding fuel to the fire of the Social Computing movement.
· An aging, more socially motivated population. As people age, their primary motivation
for using technology is driven more by family and social factors, and less by entertainment
and career objectives — both in the US and Western Europe (see Figure 3-1). This social
use of technology will only rise further as the population ages.5 In addition, Forrester has
seen a fundamental shift in the elevation of family and entertainment motivations as they
relate to technology use in the US after 2001 (see Figure 3-2). Whether this trend is due to
the disillusion of a bursting Internet bubble or a stronger sense of community following the
9/11 attacks, the shift is clear: more people are looking to technology for social purposes. The
growth in photo sharing and various forms of messaging — IM, MMS, SMS — illustrates this
trend.
· Internalization of technology among youth. For today’s youth, technology is not a nice-to-
have — it’s a part of life. Twelve- to 17-year-olds in the US spend 17% more time online than
adults for personal reasons and 155% more time instant messaging.6 And each year technology
penetrates younger age groups: 58% of 12- to 14-year-olds, for example, own a mobile phone.7
As these people age, their always-connected behavior will remain with them. Multitasking,
instant messaging, multiple email addresses, and thousand-member networks will be the norm
— even as these youth settle down, have families, and pursue careers.
· A globally defined society. Budweiser’s “Wassup” screensaver reached millions of PCs across
the globe in less than a week — and so did the ILOVEYOU virus. As more individuals come
online — by 2010, there will be more Asians with a PC than North Americans and Europeans
with a PC combined — and as more sites attract a worldwide audience, global networks will
be common.8 Witness Jainworld.com, a site for an India-based religion, which gets 62,000 hits
per day from 143 countries, or Google, which draws over 50% of its audience from outside the
US.9

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Easy connections brought about by cheap devices, modular content, and shared computing resources
are having a profound impact on our global economy and social structure. Individuals increasingly take
cues from one another rather than from institutional sources like corporations, media outlets, religions,
and political bodies. To thrive in an era of Social Computing, companies must abandon top-down
management and communication tactics, weave communities into their products and services, use
employees and partners as marketers, and become part of a living fabric of brand loyalists. February 13, 2006
Social Computing
How Networks Erode Institutional Power, And What to Do About It
by Chris Charron, Jaap Favier, and Charlene Li
with Jennifer Joseph, Manuela Neurauter, Sally M. Cohen, Tenley McHarg, and Jed Kolko