Social Networking -- past, present, and future

I'm fascinated by all the social networks available, and I'd like to have a session to talk about what has happened, what is happening now, and what the social networks OF THE FUTURE might be like...

I'm no expert -- which is what BarCamp is about -- and if you want to present something, that is great -- I am mainly proposing it because I want to attend and learn something from such a session. I'll facilitate the discussion and organize it loosely around the sequence: tales of the past, what is going on in the present, and ideas of the future.

I've come to know--through people in web414 and BarCampMilwaukee--networks such as facebook, meetup, flickr, twitter, yelp, panoramio, metroproper, pownce, OKCupid, linkedin, mySpace, ziki, upcoming, friendster, hi5.com, orkut, tribe, live, del.icio.us, tumblr, zorpia, familylink, outside.in, and more.

I'm looking to gather people with interest, experience, or passion for this area, not just from the technical side, but mainly from the social/cultural/user side. I'm particularly fascinated with the hypothesis that social and online networking can lead to or support in-person networking. Also, tales from the past: many of the Ancient Geeks used social networking tools like IRC and Usenet. What has become of them? What of the future?

Some references for historic and contemporary views:

• Rheingold, Howard (1993). The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
• Doheny-Farina, Stephen (1996). The Wired Neighborhood. New Haven; London: Yale University Press.
• Contemporary research: Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.