Will Social Media Ever Try to "Charge" for Services?

I was in a meeting a few days ago and was asked whether  we would ever get to a point where the primary social media players would "charge" for their services. In other words, will you have to slide in a credit card or spit out your bank routing number and your account number into a form to get one of these services to let you post your tweet, upload some videos or update your blog? My answer was a flat-out "no." I don't think we will ever get to that point because these social media  tools have become ubiquitous as "freebies." As awkward as it sounds, social media has done such a good job at becoming indispensable at many levels as a free product that they cannot afford to ever "charge," at least not for their core services.  Let me explain.

The fact that all levels of government, major corporations and countless small businesses, as well as untold numbers of advocacy and affinity organizations have made social media sites "home"  is what has legitimized these forms of communication in  the minds of many.  A large number of social media users flock to these sites and utilize these tools every day because people know now these sites are no longer "web toys," but instead are pathways to useful and even critical information relevant to everyday life. In fact, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogger represent quicker and more direct paths to serious information. Not to mention the benefits of the interactivity.

A huge driver of the growth of these sites is the fact that government and business/commerce can now be found on many or all of these sites reliably. I don't think social media sites are going to have many options beyond  making money through the current advertising model. That's as close as it gets to "pay." Just like many news experienced a loss of readers when they converted to pay-per-view, the "fans" of social media will simply move away and either do without the services or find substitutes in the form of other spin off technology if it ever comes to fee-for-service.  New things are coming to the Web every day. These sites will then lose their value as "must-have" tools. They will simply go back to being novelties, attracting fewer eyeballs.

Furthermore, if they became straight pay sites, government, business and other "power users" would simply abandon their posts and go back to more traditional communication tools (or develop their own versions of social media) and that would siphon off even more users of these social media sites . How many people would be inclined to log onto Twitter, Facebook or Blogger (and YouTube) if they are no longer going to get access to tax and passport information, the daily stock reports, voter and campaign information,or even customer service information?

So, I really do not foresee the day when we will be charged for using these great tools. And I do not believe they would ever have become as popular as they are today if they had charged from the beginning. Here's an interesting article on this subject: http://www.cnbc.com/id/43443908/

Social Media Moving Into More Church Pews

One area where social media seems to be gaining a significant foothold is in the church. Religious institutions are not shying away from social media. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Linked In are all fast becoming tools of churches looking to grow and spread their roots throughout the community.

In many instances, churches are tailor-made for social media. Churches themselves are small "communities" of like-minded people brought together around a specific faith or set of beliefs and social media is about creating and building communities around topics and issues and identifiable sets of information. So it should not be surprising then that savvy ministers are grabbing the social media reins and running with them. Whether it is memorable sermons on YouTube, daily Scriptures and nuggets of encouragement offered through Twitter or amplification of messages and pulpit teachings through blogging, ministers are finding social media tools to be their "best friends" in feeding the flock.

This is just further evidence that social media will only get bigger and better and more entrenched in our lives. It is not a "fly-y-night" fad. These tools are just too powerful and cross-cutting and some people and institutions are just now getting a handle on what they can offer when applied thoughtfully, properly and strategically.  Read this interesting article on this subject.