- Image by davemc500hats via Flickr
People have always been told that their vote counts, that one vote makes a difference. Nowhere is that more obvious today than in the social media space. People vote with the click of a mouse: Like, Share, Send, Forward, Digg, email, etc.
And companies listen to consumers and vote with their investment and development dollars. Microsoft invested huge sums in Facebook and today Mashable broke the story that they are launching Outlook Facebook and Windows Live Integration. Now that’s powerful. Before now, you could tie your connection to LinkedIn, Facebook, and Hoovers via Xobni, but the power of actual integration is something not to be taken lightly.
My partner, Mike O’Neil has been talking since before I met him about the trends and predictors and future of the industry. He has preached that we will see greater integration and further aggregators that will make online platforms easier to use and manage. Microsoft and Facebook teaming up is a sure sign that those things are indeed happening.
After all, it was Microsoft that popularized the graphic user interface and brought Windows and Office 95 to the computing world, simplifying computer technologies for millions of users, forcing standardization in the industry of menus and icons and keystrokes. The same needs to happen in the social media space with the variety of platforms and features and access points and cultures.
Last year they integrated LinkedIn and announced that Myspace and Facebook were not far behind. With the social integration right within Outlook – if it doesn’t bog down the program – that is a leap toward the integration Mike has predicted. Should bought stock in one of those companies!
Here’s the original article by Mashable…
What are your thoughts? How do you think this will play out? What do you think is next? Leave your comment below.
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