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Thursday, April 28, 2011

Social Networking Juggernaut Strikes Again


Juggernaut                                Facebook
Facebook claims they have more than 500 million active users. There are now 2 billion people that use the internet. So this means that 25% of all internet users are on Facebook according to the International Telecommunications Union. Facebook seems to have a death grip on the social networking scene and even the internet as a whole. This digital monopoly is basically caused by everyone being on the social network and everyone wants to be networked with each other so they’re on Facebook. But even so, the lifespan of a social network can be tricky to determine. More than a few social networking sites have seen their prime come and go with the social networking juggernaut that is Facebook.


Dead MySpace
MySpace is one of those dying social networks that at one point had more members using it than Facebook. It was even sold to News Corp. in 2005 for $580 million. After losing traffic from sites like Facebook and Twitter, MySpace switched gears and tried to find a niche with their bands and filmmaker members. According to Mashable.com MySpace is now up for sale and yet the bidding is likely not to reach $100 million.

Many social networking sites that pop up today or even ones that have been around but lost users because of Facebook are turning their attention towards a specific niche. Another example of a Facebook defeated SNS is Friendster. Friendster was one of the first SNS around, forming in 2002. It was announced yesterday that they will be deleting all user data on May 31. On a Friendster help forum for exporting friends they say:
2. What will happen to the current version of Friendster and my Friendster account?
We are introducing a new and improved Friendster in the coming weeks that will be focused on entertainment and fun. There will be new features that will leverage on your online activities and will enable you to connect with friends or engage new friends with similar interests.
So with everyone joining Facebook and leaving the other sites in the dust is there any way a smaller social network can fight back? I say yes, there are things wrong with Facebook. One thing I find annoying about Facebook are the businesses and people that are trying to get you to their website to make money. It’s also not the best site for everything it just has the most people networked into it. Sites that have seen an increase in users recently have found niches in the SNS sphere. For example, Tumblr is a blogging site that has seen membership rise. LinkedIn takes a professional approach to social networking. Also growing is the website StumbleUpon, a site that chooses a random website based on one’s interests sort of like Pandora does with music. Ignite Social Media posted a very interesting infographic about declining and blossoming social network sites.

All of these “niche-type” SNS are competing against Facebook (and each other) for a piece of the new media pie. There are many alternative sites that Facebook has to deal with to remain as the sole, dominant social network site. But Facebook has had a head start and is already monopolizing the market. Some people may not like the idea of a monopoly in any market, but I believe this market (at least in the U.S.) is suited for this type of dominant website that is kept in check by its users.
 
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4 comments:

  1. Sadie Mae WardnerMay 1, 2011 at 7:39 PM

    I would say your strongest post are your 4 most recent. I would add the one about Facebook and the one about hacking for sure. Your writing is the best among these two posts and you have great use of pictures and videos. The other 2 post aren't quite as strong but still of your better work. The pictures and graphics in them are great. If you would want to improve either of these 2 before adding them to your portfolio I would suggest ending with a solid conclusion.

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  2. Wade WesslingMay 3, 2011 at 12:53 PM

    For the three posts that I enjoyed the most I chose

    1.) Spring Break from Social Media
    -It's a great topic and one that people should be aware of.
    - I really liked the multimedia chart at the end of the post.
    2.) Corporate Battle for new media
    - Great explanation of what other sites are trying in order to keep up with Facebook
    - Great use of many well-cited links.
    -Youtube offers great explanation of google's +1 addition.
    3.)Social Network Juggernaut strikes again
    - I like this one because I wrote about a very similar topic
    - Explains what keeps Facebook on top, and why its' so popular.

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  3. Wade WesslingMay 3, 2011 at 12:55 PM

    One suggestion is to change the color of the text for links, as they do not stand out well against your background.

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  4. Christa KiedrowskiMay 3, 2011 at 7:45 PM

    I think your best post of the semester is "Spring break from social media" I really liked the chart you had to accompany your writing. It also added a little bit of color to your blog. Apple vs. Microsoft vs. Google vs. Facebook was great too. It had plenty of solid information in it and introduced a new and interesting point of view. I also liked your most recent post about Facebook entitled "Social networking juggernaugt strikes again". I like that it shares some of your personality in the piece, it has great use of picture and hyperlinks as well. You also make great points throughout your post.

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