Keep one eye on the macro-trend at all times

Wise words from Robert Young on GigaOm the investment feeding frenzy around social networking at the moment:

...social networking is a micro-phenomenon of a much larger macro-trend that the Internet has spawned since its birth… digital self-expression. And today’s social networks (along with other forms of social media, like blogging and online video-sharing) are just the tip of iceberg when it comes to the long-term potential of digital self-expression. Social networking is a micro-phenomenon of a much larger macro-trend that the Internet has spawned since its birth… digital self-expression. And today’s social networks (along with other forms of social media, like blogging and online video-sharing) are just the tip of iceberg when it comes to the long-term potential of digital self-expression.

I firmly believe that you should always keep one eye on the big picture, on the macro trend, when it comes to internet media, if you're to stand the best chance of your strategy being successful.

As I've mentioned before, I find texts like The Wealth of Networks, the World is Flat and books that take a historical perspective, like Andrew Marr's My Trade useful complementary reading alongside the heady brew served up by my RSS aggregator. Books to keep you grounded and provide a different perspective on the tempest of change and info-deluge we sometimes find ourselves contending with...

Tags: gigaom, socialnetworks

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