The Ever-Changing Game of Social Media

For most of my generation, Myspace was the first major social media site we used. While others existed, like Friendster and Hi5, they failed to hold an audience. Myspace catered to its users, allowing us to talk more about ourselves showing off our top friends. At the time, Facebook started to come around but it seemed like the plain-and-not-very-cool cousin of Myspace. However, that did not last long. Slowly I saw people start to log in to Myspace less frequently or even deleting their Myspace profiles. Facebook gained the popular vote and was pulling ahead. Everyone was commenting on a Facebook feature or how much better it was than any site before it. I thought Myspace might make a come back but they didn’t. It was either move on with them or don’t move at all because Myspace became stagnant. Finally I gave in: Facebook is my (and the) ultimate social network (for now).

Today, there is a far share of outlets including Youtube, Vine, LinkedIn, tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and even Snapchat. Which one didn’t I mention? Of course I’m referring to the weird additional profile we were all given when we created our Gmail accounts. Google+ essentially drove us to the game and gave us free seats to watch them play. The problem: people didn’t want to go. They heard us loud and clear, according to a Quartz article: “As of this month, Google no longer automatically creates a Google+ account for new users to Gmail.” Not that it matters much for those with profiles already.

But why did Google+ fail like so many before it? For a wide range of people, it wasn’t enough about them. Personalizing your profile was very limited and friend interaction wasn’t fun or satisfying enough. Google+ didn’t allow the user to be enough of an individual. As they bow down and leave the game, one can’t help but look at who else is still playing and the benchwarmers on deck that will have the next big hit. Ello, a fairly new site, whose motto is ‘you are not a product’ has made waves among those who want to move away from the overcrowded platforms. Currently in the beta stage, users are invite-only but many are trying to get a peek.

So what makes a social network successful? The more one can share about themselves, the better. And giving them the opportunity to make it look different than the next profile is even better. These platforms must be user friendly: sites with too many steps or levels will drive people away. Lastly, keep it fresh. They will have to roll out new features constantly especially ones that mimic other top competitors. With all this taken into consideration, it is hard to say who will fade away first and what the next platform will be. A Google+ comeback is not likely but I would keep an eye on Ello.