Social media is the Second Coming of the internet to many but how much longer will it be with us? Is that a death rattle I hear?

Sometimes referred to as Web 2.0, it encompasses...well...virtually everything. Almost anything on the internet can be construed as some form of social media. The World Wide Web is relationships, and relationships are what define social media.

Frankly, I'm almost sick of the phrase (I used to feel the same way about the word postmodern.) and I'll be glad when we move on to something new.

Apparently, Mike Schaffner feels similary. In his article The Death of Social Media he asks the question, "Are spam, hackers, privacy concerns and commercialization killing social media?"

He backs away from the sensational title, admitting that it isn't likely to die but acknowledges that the landscape will be everchanging as companies come and go, and users, fickle and short on attention, will never stop hopping to the new thing. Recently, I came across a hilarious video put out by the Onion (that's redundant) on the demise of Friendster.

Whether Facebook and Twitter are here today or gone tomorrow, social media (or whatever the eventual namechange will be) is with us. The only question will be who and how? And where people are gathered someone will be selling something.