Web 2.0 websites and tools such as social networking sites, blogs, wikis, video sharing sites, hosted services, web applications, mashups and folksonomies may allow users to interact and collaborate with each other in a social media dialogue as creators of user-generated content in a virtual community, in contrast to websites where people are limited to the passive viewing of content.
While many traditional media companies continue to struggle especially in the developed countries where Internet penetration is near universal, business is promising for the Web 2.0 social media industry. Millions of users are updating statuses, posting photos, posting videos and sharing articles hence helping these networks become massive content hubs.
Social media companies such as Tumblr and LinkedIn are seizing the big media role they will play and are strategically hiring editorial teams and, in effect, setting out to becoming the publishers of the future. Hence we ponder, are Web 2.0 Platforms, Social Networks the media companies of the future?
