4 ms·
> the former type is all but obliterated now. Discord is the 9,000lb gorilla of this form of social media, and it's actually quietly one of the largest social
by LexiMax 9mo ago
> the former type is all but obliterated now.
Discord is the 9,000lb gorilla of this form of social media, and it's actually quietly one of the largest social platforms on the internet. There's clearly a desire for these kinds of spaces, and Discord seems to be filling it.
While it stinks that it is controlled by one big company, it's quite nice that its communities are invite-only by default and largely moderated by actual flesh-and-blood users. There's no single public shared social space, which means there's no one shared social feed to get hooked on.
Pretty much all of my former IRC/Forum buddies have migrated to Discord, and when the site goes south (not if, it's going to go public eventually, we all know how this story plays out), we expect that we'll be using an alternative that is shaped very much like it, such as Matrix.
- dartharva 9mo agoI'd say WhatsApp is a better example
- Ekaros 9mo agoWhatsApp really feels to me more like group chat. Not really breaking barrier of social media. But then again I am not in any mass chats. Discord is many things. Private chat groups, medium communities and then larger communities with tens of thousands of users.
- nottorp 9mo ago> WhatsApp really feels to me more like group chat. So what's wrong with that?
- PaulDavisThe1st 9mo ago> Discord is the 9,000lb gorilla of this form of social media, and it's actually quietly one of the largest social platforms on the internet. There's clearly a desire for these kinds of spaces, and Discord seems to be filling it. The "former type" had to do with online socializing with people you know IRL. I have never seen anything on Discord that matches this description.
- LexiMax 9mo agoI'm in multiple Discord servers with people I know IRL. In fact, I'd say it's probably the easiest way to bootstrap a community around a friend-group.
- gwd 9mo agoIs this a generational thing? All my groups of this type are on WhatsApp (unfortunately).
- midius 9mo agomight be a regional thing instead, i don't know many americans with whatsapp -- all of my friends are on discord.
- SirHumphrey 9mo agoMaybe, but at least in my circles it’s a structure thing- until the group actually can be organised in a single chat sanely something else will be used- but as soon as multiple chats are required the thing is moved on discord.
- wongarsu 9mo agoDiscord's initial core demographic was online gaming. From there it has radiated outwards due to being the best group messaging (and voice chat) solution out there. The more overlap your friend group has with gaming and adjacent groups the more likely they are to use Discord
- moregrist 9mo agoWhen Bloomberg’s podcasts have a Discord channel (eg: Odd Lots), you know it has broken free of its gaming origins.
- fullstop 9mo agoYes. Whatsapp requires a phone number and Discord does not. The tweens who do not have a phone yet can join Discord with their siblings / friends. The other part of this is that Discord has official University hubs, so the college kids are all in there. You need an email address from that Univeristy to join: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406046651927-Discord-Student-Hubs-FAQ https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406046651927-...
- alex1138 9mo ago900 lb. Gorillas don't weigh 9000 lbs