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Not really. By "around 7 years" I meant rough numbers with a very broad standard deviation. Facebook might be actually 10 years old from first run, but from gen
by ctdonath 13y ago
Not really. By "around 7 years" I meant rough numbers with a very broad standard deviation. Facebook might be actually 10 years old from first run, but from general social awareness thereof to now is closer to 7, with a tipping point clearly having been reached between young users increasingly heading elsewhere and a growing sense by participants of "I don't want to be here but I have to". Yes, Facebook may have more staying power just because it has hit a billion users and is getting integrated into other devices, but I still see it matching the standard (if a bit elongated) pattern of social media site lifecycle. Those billion users are finding it's hard to be meaningfully social when lumped in with a billion others. Those FB-integrating devices can and will jettison FB on a moment's notice.
In 46 years I've seen a lot of "but this one is different" claims in a lot of subjects. No, it isn't in most cases. Google, yes, is different (but even they need be very careful). Facebook isn't; users are finding they can go elsewhere.