Forget Facebook, the Future's EalingToday

At least that's the word from the trend watchers and who are we to argue...

In your face Facebook! Sites like EalingToday are being tipped to become the new 'face' of Britain in the coming year, say trend watchers. And so say all of us...

Facebook is still big, but trend watchers expect the social networking phenomenon to diversify next year, with the rise of smaller, ‘local’ sites for a single neighbourhood, street or building.

So, while Facebook may be good for catching up with friends and exchanging virtual beers (and fish), local networking sites could actually turn out to be a lot more useful. You heard it here first…

As well as allowing people to post advertisements, the BBC commented this week that ‘these websites can help with anything from lost cats to trader recommendations’. Ring any bells??

They also have the potential to recreate the kind of community spirit we’d all like to imagine existed in the days before our world took on the shape of a computer screen.

Stiene Brahm Lauritsen, of London-based trend predictors Futuressence, predicts a more local focus will also help draw more mature internet users into the social networking trend.

My Ealing friends, it would seem we are shaping the future! Why not invite your friends to be part of the next big thing ;)

Charlie Canniff

January 3, 2008