It used to be that all peddlers or merchants sold face-to-face to people they new or had friendships with.  Then came the big cities, the mass merchants and broadcast media.  In my opinion, we are at a time when impersonal, mass sales channels are being challenged by the many communities that social networks are creating on the web, on cell phone and private electronic networks.  I'm not here to tell you that mass merchants are going away...

However, it is very likely that buying from friends will become a much more common experience than it is today.  Yes, the sales profession will tell you that people have always bought from people but for many of us buying has become a very impersonal experience.  Think of buying at Amazon, Wal-Mart, JC Penney, eBay and other places.  Most of the time we don't know them and they don't know us - at least not on a personal level.  I mean when was the last time you invited the checker from eBay over for dinner or a BBQ?

Social networks and online communities really have the ability to alter this experience.  Lately, I've been working on a design that ties social networks, CRM platforms, Blogs, Online forms and email service providers into a connected, automated marketing process.  I'm discovering that not only is it possible, but it appears to be an exciting method for inviting friends and acquaintances to come and do business with you.  This is especially useful in businesses that are "experiential".   Businesses like eco-tourism, adventure travel and extreme sports.  All of these business have high social involvement, create lots of personal buzz and energy and cause people to want to share their experiences, pictures, etc., and invite others to "do it with me".

This has led me to form an early opinion that the real opportunity for marketers in social media is not in search and analysis of key words on MySpace accounts - but rather it is in harnessing the power of personal friendships and human experience to share and do business with people that we know.  Social networks may not be right for all types of products - just like mass merchants are not right for all products.