Are current network operators thinking abundantly or do they view their world with scarcity? As previously stated much of the value in social networks is generated by user generated content.
Platforms have become a commodity.
Network operators current revenue models are advertising and member subscription driven of which the operators keep 100% of the income generated.
If much of the value is user generated then why wouldn't network operators treat users as partners?There is indeed a movement about with new networks launching whose model is aimed as sharing revenue from content generated by their user base.
This model is building slowly but will eventually create a wave.
There are also some analyst who have reported that social networking technology has limited reach.
This isn't true in the emerging world I am watching.
Consider the following: Jupiter Research reports "Social networking services will be the dominant force in market growth for mobile user-generated content, new research suggests.
"Across the world, end-user-generated revenues from social networking sites as well as dating and content delivery services will rise from $572 million in 2007 to more than $5.
7 billion in 2012, according to Juniper Research.
Social networking itself is forecast to account for 50 per cent of this total.
Report author Dr Windsor Holden commented: "Even though social networking sites are in their infancy, the exponential growth experienced by a number of mobile service providers - in some cases achieved primarily through viral marketing - would seem to affirm that there is huge potential in this area.
"The key challenge now is for those providers to monetize that interest.
"The highest growth is anticipated to occur in developing markets where fixed broadband access is limited, he added, saying that in such markets the mobile phone is the predominant method by which people access the internet.
Therefore, he continued, the majority of online social networking may well occur via the handset as opposed to computers in the future.
It was also reported that the number of active users of such sites is set to increase from 14 million in 2007 to almost 600 million in 2012.
Juniper Research is a telecoms analyst company, specializing in the wireless and mobile sector.
In the telecom market supplier revenue models have included "pay per click", subscription models and "pay per call" for advertisers.
Users are charged network data usage and voice time as well.
Again, scarcity thinking.
But again few talk about the customer as the supplier rather consider the customer as a single revenue source.
Turn the thinking around: Combine the forces of on line social networking with mobile social networking then add user incentives for revenue gains.
In the mobile market many operators have failed to create dynamic interfaces for their network applications to run effectively on mobile devices.
So today's online network operators must first remove the constraint in order to enable abundance.
Mobi domains are an example of addressing these constraints.
Now converge the technologies, reinvent the thinking and accelerate user incentives for revenue sharing.
You would then ignite the market, operators would gain more users and users would participate in the medium more often.
The Relationship Economy is born in the virtual world where everyone and everything is connected.
Everyone is able to transact with everything and exchange value and revenue for value given with everyone.
This requires a shift in thinking but the thinking is already evident in ripples.
The ripples will turn to waves soon so get your "boat" prepared for the rising tide.
What say you?