Battle of the Social Networking Sites - Ashley Payson

  Battle of the Social Networking Sites

BY: ASHLEY PAYSON

Social networking has come a long way; it has now become a common procrastination tool, a tool for you to chat with your friends and a tool to meet new people. It has even become a common phrase such as “Facebook me.”  It is an understatement to say that Facebook was the one that paved the path for other social networking sites to become successful.  Facebook introduced many creative and original ideas. But what happens when another social networking site as clever and creative as Mark Zuckerberg comes along?

Mark said it first “ Social networking is never finished, just like fashion is never finished,” this is true, but no fashion trend last forever. And no social networking site last long before a new improved one comes along.

In 2007 everyone who used Myspace switched over to Facebook. Why? Because it was in simple terms, better.  In 2011 about half of Facebook users made a Twitter account. Why? Not because of quality because Facebook already featured every thing Twitter could offer, it was about preference.

Preference over quality

• Quality does not play a role in a social networking sites anymore
•  Every social networking is now simply ripping off each others ideas and enhancing them
•   Example, Facebook chat, status updates or “Tweets”, Private inbox
• Google + went public in October, since then Facebook has adapted some of Google +’s original ideas like video chats and their version of circles
•  On average a person is a member of 3 different social networking sites, 1 of which they don’t use daily.

Since every social networking site is leveling the playing field by featuring the same ideas of other social networking sites. They make it hard for a user to decide which networking site is better, so now it is about preference.  For Example. An individual may love status updates but not enough to use Twitter and only do that, so they made decide to use Facebook or Google + instead.  The question now will be how will this change social networking? It has already altered the social networking world because so many people are being dedicated users to different sites. Ironically it's making it hard to be social on the network because your friends/coworkers aren't using the same network as you are.

How do you think it will change the social networking world in the future?