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Hands up those of you who remember the crawling slinky? How about the firmer water-bed? What about the hula hoop - sold over 60 million in 1958. Poodle Skirts? Sock Hops? 3-D Movies? The Conical Bra (I know Madonna does), Beatniks? Pet rock? The Macarena? Flared Pants? Hot Pants? Leg Warmers? Yep - all fads, every last one of them. Big buzz for a few months then pop. They still have some die-hard fans of course but in the main, they entered our consciousness with a bang and went out with a whimper. So what I hear you ask?  

 The recent news that Facebook lost users in the UK to the tune of 5% when comparing December 2007 to January 2008 has set the Web2.0 world a wondering. Its a small drop and a localized drop so no need to panic yet. Facebook traffic overall is actually 9% higher than 3 months ago. But the UK figure is a scar on an otherwise unblemished record. It could be a mere hiccup caused by the fact that in December many people took a one or two week vacation and spent at least some of the time surfing - then went back to work and school January. Or could it be a sign of things to come - the end of the Facebook fad? Web2.0 social networking about to be consigned to the skip along with Deedly Boppers? Probably not just yet but if the history of consumerism tells us anything it’s that the bell is tolling for social networks and Facebook. Image courtesy of Dr Fad