For many, social networks are ingrained in our daily lives. We “network” in LinkedIn, catch up with friends and family in Facebook and research our hobbies via blogs, forums and wikis. These services are no longer the realm of IT gurus. With the advent of web2.0 and related mobile devices these resources have become so easy even my Mum is using them.

The shift has been on three levels;

1. faster networks with a wider coverage (from fixed line PCs to mobile devices)
2. convergence of different multimedia technologies into cheap, small, easy to use devices (phone, camera, pc, video, audio, gaming)
3. proliferation of web services as a platform for communications (flickr, del.icio.us, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Youtube)

This allows us to communicate with more people, from more locations and all in multimedia (text, photos, video and sound). Each citizen can now broadcast to an online social network in an unprecedented manner.

The question is, where will this lead? We can assume that networks are going to get even faster, mobile devices cheaper, smaller and more powerful and the number of web services will increase.

We are now moving beyond just people being part of social networks but inanimate objects and animals too, for example your fridge could track it’s contents and even order fresh food, Tower Bridge tells people when it will open next via Twitter, you can even monitor your dog’s daily activities and upload it to the web. It seems that just as we begin to come to terms with Social Networks and the advantages and issues these raise, new devices and services appear opening new threats and opportunities we had never imagined.

For example would a dogcam potentially embarrass visiting friends? What do you do when your fridge gets a virus or crashes? What if a major transport artery’s XML feed were to be hacked?

The fact is that these technologies will advance and entrepreneurs will discover new services to sell to people. We need to be aware of where these technologies are spreading and what potential risks they may bring to young people. Then we need to utilise these very same tools to propagate a sensible message.

As adults we may lack the technological savvy of the young but we do have life experience we can share to the generation growing up in this two way multimedia rich environment.

One thing worth reminding ourselves is that over time technology gets easier to use, not harder. My 82 year old grandmother silver surfing on her netbook is proof of this.