The Guardian reports that UK traffic to the top three social media sites was all down in January for the first time on record. Traffic to Facebook and MySpace was down 5% for each site, while traffic to third ranked Bebo was down 2%. The Guardian's story was based on data from Nielsen Online.

Laying aside whether Nielsen's "panel" approach actually yields reliable data, the idea that traffic to these sites has reached a plateau shouldn't surprise anyone.

For one thing, their growth has been extraordinary. As the Guardian story points out, UK traffic to Facebook is up 712% since last July. Some flattening in growth from those levels is only natural.

And, as Neilsen analyst Alex Burmaster points out, "Real growth potential [in the future] lies in the niche networks, those based on a particular lifestyle or interest, such as travel, music, wealth or business."

This is the crucial point. Social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo have already transformed the way that people communicate. Along with smaller niche sites, they are now redefining how people come together.

For 3 millennia, human beings formed communities largely on the basis of geography or proximity. The technology that drives social media now makes it possible for people to come together without respect to geography. Instead, they are coming together on the basis of shared interest.

So, whatever the traffic stats, and however they evolve in the coming months, social networks -- big and small and on a variety of platforms -- are here to stay. And that fact is driving the necessity for authentic communications in the UK and, indeed, around the globe.

HT: Caroline McCarthy at Webware