clipped from: web2.socialcomputingmagazine.com   
The Emergence and Rise of Mass Social Media in the Web 2.0 Era

While some will dispute what mainstream is defined as exactly -- with my own personal favorite being when my grandparents and their grandchildren both are doing whatever is under discussion -- the rise of consumer-powered media platforms has all the hallmarks of being something that's not only here to stay, but something that's increasingly pushing everything else off the stage.  Yes, I'm talking about blogs, but also wikis and every other kind of two-way, user controlled participation tool that is currently proliferating on the Internet in every country and almost all demographics.