A new report by Strategy Analytics claims that roughly one out of every 6 people on the face of the earth will be using social media in 5 years. The report also adds that there are currently approximately 373 million people using social media.


"It is clear that user generated media will increasingly compete with professional media when it comes to the attention and free time of users," comments Martin Olausson, Director of Digital Media Research at Strategy Analytics. "However, if professional media companies choose to embrace social media applications it will enable a more direct and positive relationship with consumers, which will in turn drive increased engagement and loyalty."
If the report's estimates are proven to be accurate, it poses some interesting questions. Will there be more social media channels available? Will blogs continue to grow? What about podcasts? If there are 3 times as many social media users in 5 years, then there will no doubt be much more content being created. How will we cope? What will be our filters? Will there still be a MySpace? Facebook? Twitter?
Then again, it seems hard enough to predict what the social media landscape will look like 5 months from now, much less 5 years!