Is social media dead?

You wouldn’t think it, judging from the amount of people on Facebook. But a deeper look into the world of Facebook shows just how far from its humble origins it has come – and how it’s on its last legs at this moment. How do I know this? When people start to spam you mercilessly on FB and there are viruses running amok, unchecked, then people are going to move on. And Facebook, much like MySpace, is following that route.

In 2008 Facebook caught up to MySpace users in terms of growth. Since then, they claim to have grown even further. However, the excitement of this growth has to be tempered by the abuse of users and Facebook’s constant changing of format and security breaches. Meanwhile, MySpace has pretty much disappeared from view. Twitter, all the rage in 2009 and 2010, is already starting to wear on people. Free marketing, something I’ve harped on for a long time now, seems to be searching for a new venue.

Also, people seem to be reading less and less on blogs than before. But hey, I’m not giving up this website yet. It’s a good conduit.

But social media… is worrisome as well, for me. I mean, I was reading yesterday about how the Huffington Post is not even worried about some of their writers going on strike. Why no worry, you ask? Well, mainly because the HuffPo is a user-generated news site and can replace just about anyone for free.

Yes, that’s right. Free.

So… if the “major” news outlets are allowing non-journalists to dictate the news via a social network model, does that kill social media or the news? Neither? Both?

How does this work, exactly? Does the media decide what people want to hear, instead of just reporting the news? I mean, in the age of the 24 hour news cycle, what do you report and who decides? Is it a passionate group of individuals, or the dispassionate man who is simply collecting a paycheck? Is either right? Is either of them wrong?

Just random thoughts today…