The Resurgence of Email
The relationship-search connection attracts a variety of labels from leading Internet authorities. Facebook’s Zuckerberg ambiguously refers to the combination as a “social graph” - loosely defined as the map linking personal data through social applications. Internet visionary Tim Berners Lee recently hypothesized on the ”Great Global Graph” (he loves consonance), describing a new level of digital understanding in which different applications instinctively recognize the user’s established network. No more repopulating a social network upon joining.
Typically, descriptions of this new relationship -based connection are speculative, but the future is always available in the present. An example of the Berners-Lee vision exists through the convergence of web-based email services into social networking sites. Email accounts, especially those with large storage capacity like Gmail, are bursting with enough uber personal information to induce salivation throughout Facebook’s Beacon team.
Yahoo recently released a rudimentary module to incorporate Facebook information into email start pages, which only enhances the value of the data within a web-based account. Facebook, however, is also employing an inverse attack with new email notifications and the ability to migrate addresses through “friend finder.” And you thought email was dead…
Filed under: Infonalysis