The Future of Social Networks: Profile Import/Export

I want to take away my Profile!

This is something I’m quite sure we’ve already thought of or will be thinking of any moment now. And I’m not talking here about our physical profile, that for obvious reasons we have to take it everywhere, although some would prefer to leave it at home… Spanish actress Rossy de Palma (profile image) or myself could be good examples due to a prominent reason!

Let’s get serious now

We are talking about the multiple Profiles we’ve created in all social networks we actively collaborate; the Profile that represents us in the World Wide Web, that shows who we are, what we do and what and how we share. In brief, all the information any given psychologist would use to examine our personality and conclude we are all going nuts! This information belongs to us (or should) and it seems quite logical that we should have the chance of packing it and taking it anywhere else: to another social network, to another “service provider”. Aren’t we already doing this with our mobile phone number or our car insurance for example? I really don’t remember leaving behind my own car or my own phone number when changing my service provider, why should I leave behind my social profile and information when deciding to change from social network? Just imagine what a total chaos it would be if every time we change our mobile carrier, they give us a new phone number…we should have to broadcast it to all our contacts! A complete nonsense you may say.

Welcome to the Freedom of Choice & Portability!

So at this point in time I’m sure you’ll be asking yourself why can’t we just do the same thing with our Facebook profile for instance. It would be great to have the chance to decide where you want to be virtually based on the services each social network offers: maybe the elderly would choose an easier-to-manage social network with less functionality. We already know that managing Facebook can get very complex, even more than an Origami! Or we could choose a social network just because it offers better security and privacy control, just like the Diaspora* project promises!

In short, it would make our lives much easier; we would have everything hanging from our Profile and we could keep all our contacts/friends intact, being able to share and collaborate through services that would integrate between the different platforms, services or social networks (giving out some ideas here!). We would keep always the same Identity over time with one of the greatest advantages of all, one we’ve been looking for since we use username/password combination: A unique username & password! G-R-E-A-T!