Maslow and Social Networks

Every marketing student will be familiar with Maslow's Hierachy of Needs - the classic pyramid describing the way that people organise their basic physiological needs such as shelter before moving onto higher level needs such as friendship and belonging.  The recent Forrester report - Social Computing - raises Maslow as a helpful way of understanding why social networks are growing so fast:  "As technology has made ever more  products available to a wider audience at lower cost, many Europeans, Americans, and  Japanese already meet their needs for food, shelter, and safety. They are now striving to fulfill  the higher needs in Maslow’s scheme: love and belonging; esteem; and self-actualization."  This is an idea that's also popular among open source communities.  I read it as : People Want A Voice.