Wanting Friends

10 years ago if you had a friend chances were that you’d met them at least once, spoke to them on the phone occasionally and they’d visited your house or you’d visited theirs.

People had a group, outside of their family, that they could fall back on when they needed emotional or social support. For the most part though they liked to meet up with their friends and chat, watch sport or just hang out.

It used to be the case that anyone that considered speed dating or blind dates would be considered a bit sad or a little bit inept. Why would you need to go and meet other ‘loser’ singles when everyone else managed just fine at meeting partners.

People were happy with the number of people they knew and believed that their social circles were sufficient.

The internet has destroyed these preconceptions and traditional definitions of friendship. It is now perfectly normal to meet your partner online, have more friends on your iChat buddies than friends you’ve met, and share music tips with hundreds of mySpace friends.

This appears to be a major shift in the way people act socially. It’s now ok to go out and acquire friends. It’s perfectly ok to log in to Friendster or Soflow with the express intention of meeting new people to be friends with.

This says to me that it’s fine to be in need. People want more friends, better friends, more contacts and better contacts. It’s almost as if, in the last ten years, it’s become fine to be insecure.

This major attitudinal shift gives brands a great way in to people’s lives. By facilitating forums for people to meet in they have the opportunity to have a positive and permanent effect on people’s lives. However, knowing that people want more and better friends and contacts there must be a more efficient and impactful way for brands to interact in a positive way with people’s lives.