I keep talking and writing about community in terms of trust and efficiency, as a way to cut through the “noise” online. Here’s my most recent post on that subject: Information Overload and Community Adoption
Research from Autobytel I excerpt today on Search Engine Land would appear to confirm my thesis to some degree:
–72.3 percent of Americans experience “search engine fatigue” (either “always,” “usually,” or “sometimes”) when researching a topic on the Internet.
–65.4 percent of Americans say they’ve spent two or more hours in a single sitting searching for specific information on search engines.
–More than three out of four (75.1 percent) of those who experience search engine fatigue report getting up and physically leaving their computer without the information they were seeking – either “always,” “usually” or “sometimes.”
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Related: Gary Price pointed me to Reed Construction as an example of Reed Elsevier doing some innovative things in the B2B space. But it’s also an example of how social networking can take on a very practical character in this context.
Screenwerk 
October 23, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Excellent data!
Social networking is in fact, taken and groups consulted for specific topis and products now.
I remember reading in another blog post that one of the lesser known search engines (can’t remember the URL) is planning to incorporate a social networking angle into their mechanics. i.e. if someone searches for a specific ‘keyword’, he can immediately also interact with others who have searched/or searching currently for the same keyword. This leads instant sharing of the information on a mass basis.
Courteously — S. Kumar
http://www.learnhomebusiness.com