Bob at Tech Consumer is noting the recent article in the Economist suggesting that Social Networks are about to dethrone “sex” as the top item of internet interest. The interesting graph notes that where sex stuff is becoming a smaller fraction of the total internet searches, social networking items are moving higher and higher.
In one sense this is a bit misleading. One of the key drivers of social networking is “dating” and meeting people, so it’s fair to say that what we might call “primal urges” are still the top search theme online. But it’s probably encouraging that the porn economy is growing *less fast* than the social online economy, which continues to explode. (Porn segment is growing but not as fast as the social economy segment of online traffic – and also probably economic – activity).
What’s going on with this? It’s really not surprising at all that socializing online is a very powerful part of the online experience. The internet is about people more than it’s about technology, and people tend to be very interested in …. other people.
