No, Social Media Is Not Ruining Innovation

Ignore the handwringing, because a lot of it is bogus. Whatever Facebookâ??s future on the stock market, itâ??s ridiculous to argue that itâ??s not having a profound, positive impact on the world that goes beyond getting you to click on ads while you stalk your high-school classmates. The fundamental mission of social networks is to connect people who wouldnâ??t meet otherwise. These connections can be extremely valuable, enabling new, world-changing business ideas. For instance, the fact that you can now look up real folks online is essential for startups that want us to share resourcesâ??services like Airbnb, which allows you to rent out your apartment to strangers, or the peer-to-peer car-sharing site RelayRides.