I've noticed a trend among the most popular social networks/communities online that is disconcerting to me; I'm calling it the McDonaldization of social media. Platforms and communities that I have used and participated in because of their different services over the last few years, such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Plaxo have moved away from their initial core services and become everything to everyone. What's even stranger about this trend, is that somewhere during this evolution, they morphed into each other, becoming this MyFaceLinkedPlaxo that I can no longer tell apart.

I don't know if this is a case of a Silicon Valley Meetup gone wrong or if one designer had a great year winning business from all the top communities, but everything is looking the same to me anymore, right down to the common denominator of blue and white templates.

Even worse, this blurring of the product/service line confuses me on the products. I no longer know which community does what, best anymore. When you do everything, can you really distinguish yourself as doing any one thing well?

It's almost as if social media has become the beast that we ran from: mass media. We left mass media because they weren't speaking to "me," they were speaking to everyone about everything. Think of The New York Times "All the news that's fit to print," versus our online news moguls like Digg that started as just tech news. Now, McDonalized social media properties are all offering the same fast food social media products, with different marketing campaigns and Madison Avenue taglines assigned.

"Plaxo keeps you in-touch and up-to date!"
"Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you."
"LinkedIn: Relationships Matter"
"MySpace: A place for friends"

Sounds a lot like: "Burger King: Have it Your Way" or "McDonalds: I'm Lovin'It," doesn't it?

I worry that just one year after Time Magazine Named "You" as person of the year, social networks have forgotten about us.

I also worry that we are ignoring history and the valuable lesson of hubris. It's only been a few years since we were misled and misinformed by MSM's Jayson Blair, leading even more people to cynically defect from MSM media and seek truth by reading more news sources online. Yet, here we are just a few years later, watching Mark Zuckerberg similarly trip up in his own hubris, in what seems to me, his abandonment of his Brand's core audience and product because of greed.

Is social media becoming the new "corporate america"? Worse, are we allowing them to become this? Like sheep, will we simply graze, nod and follow? What's the alternative to a social media world that sells out? Where do we go next? Or, are do we have a chance to save social media and not make the mistakes of msm? I'd love to hear other thoughts on this.