New on the Social Network Scene

When a video goes ”viral” on the Internet, it explodes on the scene with the force of a one megaton PR campaign. The reach of said video goes everywhere and is accessible by everyone.

For bloggers, if the video's message and content is convincing enough, it is often embraced and winds up on blogs and/or in mailboxes around the globe, but mainstream media may pick up on it as well and might be fooled into accepting it as gospel, unless they go directly to the source for further background.

During the first week in April, there were some very credible and geeky websites that fell for the concept of “Fluttering” (a form of “Nanoblogging”) – supposedly the ultimate step after “Twittering” (the social network tool, which has rapidly become famous for tracking every move of the famous, not-so-famous, wanna-be-famous, and infamous in 140 characters or less.)

Nanoblogging (as portrayed in a "mockumentary" tongue-in-cheek video from Salon Magazine) offered anyone who is attached to their computers or iphones, multiple opportunities to keep their friends and followers informed of their every move by utilizing a sparse 26 characters of alphabet communications – somewhere between “Twittering” and texting… you remember texting don’t you?

That’s right, 26 characters to stay informed on everything - in every one of your social contact’s lives.

Amazing!!! But, it was all a mirthful joke, which many in technology geekdom took seriously, two days after April Fools Day!

I won't embarrass anyone by sending you to their blogs or websites but suffice to say in less than a week the video was viewed over 400,000 times.

A stroke of genius by Salon. What do you think? Maybe we are actually glimpsing the future?