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Whats the alternative to Facebook? I find it weird that they still don't have any real competitors. Sure other platforms have similar features, but nothing with

by kart23 6y ago

Whats the alternative to Facebook? I find it weird that they still don't have any real competitors. Sure other platforms have similar features, but nothing with the entire combination (groups, events, messaging, marketplace) that makes facebook so lethal. I think the closest thing might have been Google+, but we all know how that went.

talkingtab 6y ago
I would like to understand what exactly are the features that an alternative to Facebook would need and what would the minimal viable product require in order for people to use it? Any expansion or comments on the proposed list would be appreciated.
- kart23 6y ago
  I didn't have facebook before coming to college, but its pretty much required in my school, and that's what I'm mostly focusing on. First, groups are the most important thing: for creating spaces where students can advertise events, look for advice, list stuff for sale, and post other random stuff that you want other students to see. Organizations also have their own pages with event calendars and also advertise on these groups. Event pages are the second most important thing: a page with all the details, whos coming, etc. Both groups and events are able to be public or private. Marketplace and messaging are nice-to-haves. Not essential, but messenger is widely used simply because everyone has facebook.
neartheplain 6y ago
For one-to-one and group messaging, or a rolodex of contacts: Signal, Telegram, email. For one-to-many newsfeed-style posting: few good options. Twitter lacks fine-grained privacy and audience controls.
- kart23 6y ago
  The biggest thing I see missing from other platforms are event pages and groups: the one/many-to-many style posting. This combination is what facebook essentially has a monopoly on. The ability to make these private or public is essential as well. I think mastodon would be a good replacement if they added groups and event pages, but I'm not sure.
throw_m239339 6y ago
> Whats the alternative to Facebook? I find it weird that they still don't have any real competitors It would take a massive amount of VC money to compete with something like Facebook, so it's not weird, there is very little VC left for social media. The FAANG will probably conspire to kill your platform anyway, before it reaches some significant adoption, if you depend on any of their services.

by kart23 6y ago

talkingtab 6y ago

I would like to understand what exactly are the features that an alternative to Facebook would need and what would the minimal viable product require in order for people to use it? Any expansion or comments on the proposed list would be appreciated.

kart23 6y ago
I didn't have facebook before coming to college, but its pretty much required in my school, and that's what I'm mostly focusing on. First, groups are the most important thing: for creating spaces where students can advertise events, look for advice, list stuff for sale, and post other random stuff that you want other students to see. Organizations also have their own pages with event calendars and also advertise on these groups. Event pages are the second most important thing: a page with all the details, whos coming, etc. Both groups and events are able to be public or private. Marketplace and messaging are nice-to-haves. Not essential, but messenger is widely used simply because everyone has facebook.

neartheplain 6y ago

For one-to-one and group messaging, or a rolodex of contacts: Signal, Telegram, email. For one-to-many newsfeed-style posting: few good options. Twitter lacks fine-grained privacy and audience controls.

kart23 6y ago
The biggest thing I see missing from other platforms are event pages and groups: the one/many-to-many style posting. This combination is what facebook essentially has a monopoly on. The ability to make these private or public is essential as well. I think mastodon would be a good replacement if they added groups and event pages, but I'm not sure.

throw_m239339 6y ago

> Whats the alternative to Facebook? I find it weird that they still don't have any real competitors It would take a massive amount of VC money to compete with something like Facebook, so it's not weird, there is very little VC left for social media. The FAANG will probably conspire to kill your platform anyway, before it reaches some significant adoption, if you depend on any of their services.