Just a few short months ago I was getting a little tired of writing “Cloud” about everything in technology. (See My wish for 2012: Not too cloudy.) Now I’ve become numb to the cloud. But I fear that “social” is becoming the new “cloud.”
It seems that every technology needs a social angle to be relevant. Social networking was just the start. Now there’s social business, social customer, the social enterprise, social gifting … you name it.
Sometimes it makes sense – but the sheer magnitude of the social avalanche is enough to make me feel anti-social. When the pundits spend a lot of time debating terminology (as in the ongoing debate over what makes a social enterprise), you know that we’ve got a bad case of buzzword fever.
Of course, these kinds of buzzword tsunamis are the necessary byproduct of the rapid and pervasive changes in technology. Still, it’s fun to complain. Leave your comments here and we’ll create a social debate on social technology. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)
Anne Janzer 
I’m in double trouble. I’m writing a brochure about cloud-based data analytics and a big feature of the solution is the ability to sort through the “noise” of social networks in order to glean important information. 🙂
You’re not alone! To quote a Star Trek episode, “Resistance is futile”
Yes, both “cloud” and “social networks/technologies/software” are key features of Buzz Word Bingo these days!