Social Networks are not just for the Queen

The fact that the Queen is now on YouTube struck me as not only a real sign of times, but also an example of how social networking sites have come of age.
The idea that such a bastion of the establishment could be found in the same environment as “Lindsay Lohan’s dirty pictures” would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
But the online world has matured and even the most conservative bodies are now happy to credit users with the intelligence to select the content that interests them and dismiss nonsense, spam and all manner of unsavouriness.
In fact 2007 has been remarkable for the complete acceptance of these sites into daily life and the wholehearted way they have been embraced by the traditional media players.
Just look at the BBC, Sky, CNN et el headline service on Facebook or the participatory art project launched by the previously dusty Tate Gallery on Flickr.
Interestingly the Queen has already received 578,902 viewings of this year’s Christmas message on YouTube and will no doubt receive even more over the coming months.
But the traditionalists shouldn’t despair just yet – the 3pm broadcast was watched on television by six million people.
A level of audience that the Royal Channel could take some weeks to reach, but then will no doubt outstrip in the manner of the tortoise and the hare.