Evolution of Social Media in 2012

Social media has come a long way over the last decade. Many forms now co-exist, and each medium seems to have a distinct function. It is irresistible to say the changes are long form to short form, and that is one of the trends. 


But the movement also is toward "sharing" more than "writing," and towards more visually-oriented sharing. There also has been a shift to sharing that has more commercial implications. 


2012 will likely see an acceleration of structured, push button, social curation across the web.  Why?  Because most users don't want to take much effort to produce content, and consuming content in a structured manner (especially photos) is also much faster.