Very interesting presentation by a Google UX researcher:

Here are what i find to be the key insights:

• Social networking is still evolving online because it’s still not quite aligned with offline social networking (our existing norms and habits).
• “Friends” is a very bad way to call our online social connections/interactions. The terms is much too general.
• New terms will need to emerge to describe strong ties, weak ties, temporary ties.
• We still need to design technology to suit a desired type of social  relationship/interaction. One size does not fit all.
• We are still learning about the mechanics of influence online. Not as simple as previously though…
• Proximity is an important factor in influence.
• Emotional proximity is more important than physical proximity.
• We need to think about how we are letting users represent themselves online.
• Public does NOT mean publicized! The UX we create must clearly inform the users on the audience that will witness their actions.
• Privacy leads to trust when done properly.
• We must be able to let our users finely control every aspects of how they are viewed by their peers.

What do you think? Is your business model and marketing strategy compatible with these findings?