In the last two years, Internet traffic has been mainly driven by Facebook, which will impact people profoundly in the next 3 to 5 years, said management guru Prof N. Venkatraman.
Had it not been for Facebook , global Internet traffic would have dropped significantly. Thanks to the social networking site, traffic increased nearly 6 per cent, according to Prof Venkatraman, David J McGrath Professor of Management at the Boston University School of Management.
Facebook is an example of how social media networks can influence the way people live. It also presents business opportunity for companies to reach out to their existing and potential customers, he said at
Warner Bros, for instance, used Facebook to understand what viewers think about its movies. Typically, a movie is first released in theatres and then in DVDs. However, Warner Bros released the videos of
The 21st century will provide great opportunity and challenges to companies. Without the use of technology and the Web, they may not be successful, he said.
Prof Venkatraman advocated the five Webs — mobile, social, real time, machine and media — that will be critical for businesses in future. These five Webs should not be independent but inter-dependent. Web is increasingly impacting everybody’s lives, he said.