I’ve just been having a read through the Trend Watching briefing ‘8 trends to capitalize on in 2008′, and in particular an idea they had about social networking, which they refer to as NETHOODS.
“As discussed in earlier briefings, nichification based on interest, background, affiliation, hobboes, travel destinations and so in is now a fact. In fact, expect experienced social networkers to not only have a Facebook, Xing, Bebo, Linkedin or MySpace profile, but to also spend time on smaller networking sites (from Mesh Tennis to Yideoz to Goodreads to Trupoli) when things get, welll focused.
So what’s next for 2008? One thing to watch is social networks of any kind going local, if not hyperlocal. Neighbourhoods. Streets. Buildings. Floors. Like many subtrend, this one isn’t spanking new, in fact, we dubbed this opportunity NETHOODS (”neighbourhoods, streets and even apartment buildings will get their own internet and intranet sites: not just to promote the many qualities they have to offer their (prospective) inhabitants, but also to provide communal interaction and localised services”) in 2003, but sometimes timing is everything, and now that networking on a grander scale is in place, connecting locals if not neighbours is just a business opportunity waiting to happen.”
This got me thinking back to my uni days, before halls of residence had WiFi or even standard internet connections. Everything relied on word-of-mouth, which we all know to be incredibly powerful when informing purchase decisions. Even more powerful when the majority of students are fish-out-of-water, looking for like-minded connections and new ‘tribes’ to join.
So decisions on where to go clubbing and where to spend the student loan (oh-so-important for local fashion retailers) were heavily influenced by those people that seemed to know what they were talking about. I ended up in a couple of really bad places, on reccomendations, only to see the person that had ‘tipped me of’ working behind the bar.
The ability for students to tap into a trusted, almost ‘wiki’ resource that is created and managed by their peers, would make for a pretty interesting NETHOOD. Hall of residence and student housing, often containing representations of every ‘tribe’ and sub-demographic, can explore and identify with people living there; create new social groups that thrive not only on the basis of shared interest (MySpace etc.) but also on physical closeness.
Brands wanting to target specific student populations, typically the preserve of ‘brand ambassadors’ and student unions, could now increase their reach and presence, every day of term. Universities could ensure their students are able to access key information and support immediately, by-passing dubious local sources preying on students lack of knowledge.