Mediaboss Marketing

Date: Saturday Jun. 16, 2012 7:23 PM PT

While mega social networks are ideal for connecting with the masses, social media experts say users are beginning to look for a more personal online experience.

Changes to Facebook and Google+ give social networkers complete control over who can see each photo, video, status update and anything else that's shared online.

"Part of the shift is people are discovering they would like to have a Facebook for people who are closer to them," said Mitch Joel, a social media heavyweight and president of Montreal-based digital marketing firm Twist Images.

Joel said mega social networks are ideal for connecting with acquaintances, but not necessarily your inner circle.

Vancouver-based blogger Kris Krug agrees.

"Compared with hanging out, talking on the phone and Skyping, Facebook is less personal, less intimate, more wrought with misunderstanding and miscommunication," he said.

Krug points to social networking site Path, which markets itself as a personal environment designed for close friends and families and limits each of its two million users to 150 connections, as an example of a more tight-knit community.

However he said recent changes to Facebook, the introduction of "close friends" and "family" lists for example, are giving users a new level of privacy, control and comfort online.

Krug added that as social networks continue to grow at a rapid pace, there's plenty of room for new players.

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What does the future hold for mega social networks?