Now, if LinkedIn and Facebook could combine to make 1 uber-network to rule them all…

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Tags: linkedin, mobile, iphone, iphone is awesome, everyone should develop for iphone, facebook, social

But if EVERYTHING is social, and social is web 2.0, is web 2.0 automatically social and does that make everything 2.0? Holy crap. Here is where it gets hilarious (and by hilarious, I mean confusing.)

Twitter is social. Twitter is web 2.0. Twitterpost or Tweeter are web 2.0, and allow you to post to Twitter, but are not inherently social because they are just software. SO…it’s possible to be 2.0, but not be social. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to be social without being web 2.0. Blogging is both, Twitter is both, Facebook is both, Myspace is both, and so on.

But now, if you’re paying attention, every site is “social” too. New website Sazze is adding a social component to consumer product reviews. Which isn’t different than Amazon or Yelp really, only that the design of the site is a little more 2.0.

Which I failed to mention before - web 2.0 also defines a style of design. Amazon might have set the tone for social business models, but they aren’t often mentioned as a 2.0 company partly because their design is pretty 1.0…and because they were actually a web 1.0 company. So maybe that’s the real reason, but still, I’m on a roll.

I guess I’m sick of the grey area that is social media, web 2.0, and just general websites with new buzzwords.

Where is good consolidation when you need it.

Enter RiverWired, a social network masquerading as a magazine.  On the outset, the site features lifestyle tips, product reviews and even a handy widget to find local farmers markets.  But after setting up a user account, a plethora of new features become available - blogs, videos, plus user tips and suggestions on how to be more green every day.

RiverWired just got even more green - as in the cash variety.  According to VentureBeat, the site just received $1.5M in seed funding by undisclosed angel investors.  Which is cool because in my book, the best kind of social networking is the green kind.

That was said in a self-depricating, wry tone.

Check it out - Webware is a great site.

So what did I do?  I sent it via Pownce.

The funny thing is that the aformentioned co-worker and I are connected via Pownce, Twitter, last.fm, Facebook, LinkedIn and Kluster.  As he put it, “We have absolutely no excuse for being unable to contact each other.”

He’s right.  Which brings up the question - are we TOO connected?  Is there such thing as social media overload?  I mean, surely some of us prefer Facebook over MySpace and Twitter all day long but forget about Pownce and approve connections on LinkedIn once every two months when we remember to do it…  Nonetheless, in this hyper-connected world of new media, are there boundaries that we should set for ourselves that prevent others from having 24/7 access to our favorite songs, newest creative endeavors and an update on whether or not we’re single, in a relationship or if “it’s complicated”?

Tell us what you think.

But I tried an experiment on Myspace that didn’t work. For those that remember, my goal on Myspace was to brand myself as “cool” according to whom I befriended. The sad thing is, while I was able to amass some fantastic friends on Myspace (Kevin Smith, Ryan Adams, Barack Obama) it clearly didn’t matter. Myspace was the exception to my social experiment of “selective friending” as a way of defining my personal brand. It works on other sites, and Virb is one of them. I get hit up by bands every week, and some are good - so I friend them.

Check out Virb.com for more, and if you sign up for an account - send me an invite if you think you are cool enough to stimulate my personal brand.

For the record, I love Twitter. I loved it when I had a Blackberry because it was the only fun thing I could do on my Blackberry. I love it now, because I have a Twitter widget on my Netvibes homepage and can twit whenever I’m working without feeling terrible about it. Why is Twitter so great you ask?

Really? Have you tried it? Really??

Twitter is like haiku blogging. You get limited words/characters and it’s more about - “what are you doing RIGHT NOW” - than really telling a story. The beauty of Twitter kicks in only after weeks of monitoring your friends twits and realizing that despite your reading their blog or knowing them from work, Twitter has actually given you better insight than anything else about who this person really is (or thinks they are.)

It’s brilliant. It’s stream of consciousness blogging, without the space for embellishment.

Of all the social media ideas to come since Facebook, Twitter will be the one that lasts and that will join the list of Facebook, Myspace, and blogging as social media concepts that business try to conquer (or at least adopt.)

Follow me on Twitter. From time to time, I actually twit in haiku.

Pownce allows microblogging and “friending” in a similar fashion to Twitter - well really, it’s like Tumblr COMBINED with Twitter - and throw in file sharing. I love that when I add friends to Pownce I can swap songs and prove my continued prowess in selecting GREAT upcoming bands that no one knows about yet except people who are PAID to know about great obscure bands. I can also hook up with my freelance design friends and share files.

Of course, I could also email them - but I like how I can post something to Pownce and not get lost in email with pictures of cute dogs laying on couches they’ve eaten or some dude who has impaled himself on a wrought-iron fence. It’s like file sharing, microblogging, and escapism. It’s great and super useful and I use it every day.

It’s just slightly less fun than Twitter. And that’s ok.

Why do I believe this? I have friends on Pownce, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Kluster, Behance, and other social networking sites (some that I’ve completely forgotten about.) I’m not alone. There will be a time, very soon, where the social world begins to consolidate. When that happens there will only be a couple of “entertainment” based networks left standing (my money says only one survives.) Facebook has ceased being the “new thing” and people will quickly figure out that most of the Facebook apps suck and start asking “now that I’ve tracked down my pals from 5th grade, what the hell am I doing here?”

To all the folks who think I’m just going negative - I hope you’re right. I hope there is some awesome wicked sweet widget or app that will sudden have me changing my tune about Facebook. Maybe I will come up with it myself - I love being contrary, even when I get to contradict myself. But I see the fatigue coming, and I hope Facebook is anticipating this. Google will always provide a valuable service by letting the world search for anything - but now that I’ve reconnected with Jill Smith from my 9th grade gym class I’m left wondering what I get back for all this time I’ve spent on Facebook?

Am I one of many to soon close the Facebook? Do I signal the inevitable downfall of Facebook, or do I just not have any interesting friends?