3 ms·
Only up to a point. In the real world, people move in multiple social spheres, and usually like to keep them separate. I think the same is true online. For e
by username223 9y ago
Only up to a point. In the real world, people move in multiple social spheres, and usually like to keep them separate. I think the same is true online. For example, some kids see Facebook as "the place their parents are," a place to act polite and keep things to themselves. After all, why are we "toasterlovin" and "username223" here?
- toasterlovin 9y agoGood points. I think there's a good chance that there will be a changing of the guard at some point. But social media within a given sphere is a winner take all game. Then the winner in the biggest sphere will try and buy all adjacent social media companies (see Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp). The only hope I see is either 1) somebody has a large enough ego to think they can take on the dominant player (Snapchat/Evan Spiegel), or 2) the government gets some sense and decides that it's not a good idea to let the dominant player buy adjacent companies. So maybe Snapchat wins eventually as their demographic grows older. But then we're in the same position we're in now, just with a different company on top. At least, that's how things seem like they will play out to me.
- username223 9y agoAgreed. Our weak antitrust rules are causing problems in all sorts of areas, and this is just one of them. The world would have been a better place if Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp had remained separate, each pursuing its own version of a "social network." WhatsApp even had a subscription model that people accepted.