There has been a lot of talk about the future of online. I believe it will come down to one word: social.

Take a moment to read the first page of Wired's "Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network's Plan to Dominate the Internet — and Keep Google Out." I'll wait.

Nice to have you back.

If this report is true, which I believe it is, we are all participating in the future of the web. The future of the web will be driven by people, our experiences, locations, reviews and content. I explained this concept to some co-workers in a very practical sense:

1. Let's say you wanted to find the best air Conditioner repair company.
2. Currently, you'd go to Google, type in "air conditioning repair." You'll find a lot of paid search, some local results and some high-ranking websites. Great. But that doesn't explain the reputation or quality of the companies.
3. You call, maybe have a bad experience and are stuck with a high bill or A/C that doesn't get fixed.

Let's take a look at what happens if Facebook's dream comes true:

1. Instead of going to Google, you'll go to Facebook's search.
2. You'll type in "air conditioning repair."
3. Instead of search results, you'll get recent friends that have called air conditioning companies.
4. Facebook will know that your friends called these companies because Facebook will continue to develop their iPhone and mobile applications. Facebook's current mobile apps already allow you to call a friend. They'll now track who you and your friends call.
5. After the call, your friend may choose to rate the experience and if they used the air conditioning repair service.
6. If the air conditioning company was smart, they would have an automatic response after the service was complete. It would ask your friend to rate the service, value and quality of the repair. The rating would then show up in your friend's profile when friends search for air conditioning repair.
7. You could then look at all of your friends' experiences, and find the best company to call.

Why is this so revolutionary? Because it's the first time search will put the power in the people's hands. It will allow people like you and me to get instant reviews from friends (and strangers) without making multiple calls. It will also force companies to be more transparent and provide better products and services. Sounds like a win-win, doesn't it?

Not exactly. It's going to be tough for the "we've always done it this way" corporations to realize the power of this social medium. I'm afraid many will realize after it's too late. Facebook already has over 250 million active members (over half the population of the US) and continues to grow at an exponential rate.

If you're in marketing, what should you do? Learn, research and experiment.

The Balcom Agency will be unveiling some innovative offerings next week to companies looking to start or improve their social web presence. Be on the lookout. If you're impatient, like me, feel free to shoot me an email.