Remember Friendster, the innovative social networking site with the friendly Happy Face? I do. In fact, along with the millions of other people who flocked to Friendster, I spent countless hours updating my profile, adding friends, and writing testimonials. It was all the rage. People couldn't imagine a world without it.
But that world quickly changed when the site started going down constantly and couldn't scale with massive growth. A giant-in-the-making vanished nearly overnight, with MySpace eating its lunch. MySpace had scaling problems as well, but managed to remain faster and offered unique self-expression features that Friendster lacked. Complain as much as you like about how ugly MySpace looks, but its growth indicated that it was here to stay. With compelling content from popular bands, sexy women, and other creators, MySpace came out a clear winner.
Along came a myriad of other social networking sites, all clamoring for market share of the social Web. Many self-organized into niche sites and became the premier social networks of Brazil, Ireland, or Detroit -- all big markets that are nothing to scoff at. But very few had the global reach of MySpace or its rival Facebook. Together, the two sites became the yin and yang of social media. Facebook took the controlled-design approach of Apple, and MySpace went the "anything goes" direction of early Microsoft.
History seems to be repeating itself with Twitter -- at least in some respects. Like Friendster, the site's enthusiastic early adoption has proven the need for a scalable platform.
I admit, I really didn't get Twitter when I first tried it. I added a few friends and updated my status a few times -- and completely lost interest. It was the initial reaction I'd had to Friendster.
Eventually my friends started following up, nudging, and constantly asking for my Twitter ID. I clicked through and replied to a few nudges -- and off I went. I didn't look back. Now Twitter is an important part of my life for business and being social. I find out news within minutes of an event happening and can find a myriad of things to do with friends and strangers. I can also cultivate an interest group around projects I am involved with. What a win!
So, already Twitter is more useful than the 1.0 of social networks, but can it be improved? Yes! Will it be improved in time? Unfortunately, I don't think so. I predict that the equivalent MySpaces and Facebooks of this particular space are coming, and then it might be a KO.
Twitter can't build features fast enough, because they have too many issues to sort out with scaling. If someone comes out with the features we're all looking for and creates a mass following of all our friends, then we'll have a clear winner.
A MySpace direction would be interesting. It would probably focus 100 percent on a one-to-many model for celebrities and "ceWebrities" of all sizes and their fans. Maybe special people will have premium features. I don't predict access control lists in that scenario. But a Facebook direction might be tightly controlled for "real friends" and have permissions from here to Mars. Each approach would have its own benefits.
Come to think of it, both MySpace and Facebook should work to create the next status micro-communications tools. It sure would simplify the lives of those that are already engaged on those networks. Facebook is almost there with its status updates. You can subscribe to your pal's updates via SMS, but replies are restricted to the person you are replying to unless you switch contexts and post to their wall. So close!
Let's hope Twitter can outrun its growing pains and future rivals without ending up with the arrows in the back so common to technology pioneers. Everyone loves a happy ending.
Thanks for your review. It always interesting to know how others think about the development of Web 2.0 tech and why the older application missed to grow for the future. You made me think of the old Facebook when features were just simple and easy to use. Twitter has now grown bigger with features that allows better and effective communication for users. Seems like someone have learned from the past. What to be considered is how to maintain their leading status and develop it into an even better one.
Everyone I know that uses Twitter started out thinking like that (I still do, I'm not a twitter user) but after a while they "get it" and now they are hooked on it.
It's like a multiway IM session, that you can take with you, wherever you go. You pick which conversations you want by picking who to follow and hopefully they'll be topics you care about.
Huge Thanks for "ceWebrities"! As far as twitter is concerned, I still don't get it, might be because my friends do not use it much.Twitter really reaminds me the status option of Facebook or any IM- so I am wondering, why Twitter? What is the difference?
Technology keeps changing, and no one yet has truly predicted the next big thing, and no current fad over today's favorite gadget has ever lasted. Twitter is cute, and it, too, will be supplanted by the "next big thing". The really neat thing about all of this is that technology IS getting better, more interoperable and more useful.
Oh, I couldn't agree more! Proclaim your love loud and clear. As an internet marketer and writer I closely follow the social media trends that come and go. Without tech geeks blogging about their love, I'd be in the dark. I've been seeing the Twitter backlash grow for weeks now and I think the tipping point is nigh. What is interesting to me is I am hearing the future is in Plurk, not FriendFeed. They aren't generating the online buzz that FriendFeed is but their subscription rates are, apparently, higher and are growing more quickly.
You make a great point. This doesn't only hold true with social media sites but social media press releases as well. Not everyone is a tech startup. Not everyone is a geek or social media fiend. Some people still like Facebook or *gasp* dinners with real people.
Getting your company mentioned on TechCrunch or Gizmodo isn't the end all be all for every company. And while all of this may be true, FriendFeed is still better than Twitter and we geeks have every right to proclaim that!
I agree. While, for me, Twitter serves the purpose of facilitating personal connections, I use it for business as well. The constant downtime and unreliability made that aspect of its use quite aggravating.
One of my biggest beefs with social media bloggers is there misconstrued perceptions of how many people truly are using social media tools. Saying that people couldn't imagine a world without Friendster is ignoring that fact that in most people's worlds, Friendster never even exsisted. The social media population is still small and those that are living and dying by its new tools, even smaller. Social media bloggers need to realize the life they live is nowhere close to the life of anyone average. They need to stop speaking for the masses when they only people they ever seem to really speak to are those that are just like them.
The EdTech (education technology) community has had a number of folks migrate to Plurk as a result of Twitter's inability to maintain a stable infrastructure. Many of them worked hard to build their own community of practice within Twitter and came to rely heavily not simply upon the service Twitter supplied but more importantly upon the network of people they cultivated. When technology fails, it is a pain, but it seems that the problem is amplified when our connections to people are affected. I fear that Twitter is quickly coming upon a point of no return, after which those who have become disenfranchised will not be willing to give Twitter another chance.
I became so frustrated with seeing the "fail whale" I declared a Twitter boycott. Needless to say, it went over like a lead balloon! Which is why I'm not sure Twitter can be easily trumped. People love the app...me included. It's usefulness exceeds the angst we feel regarding downtime, broken components and, yes, even the whale. I have to say that I've noticed it's working better of late too.
Yet and still, something WILL come along in time. Friendster gave way to MySpace, which gave way to Facebook, which gave way to Twitter. But, the transition will take place based on sheer evolution and the fact that a lot of people like the latest, shiniest and newest toys. For example, Plurk is one such contender that's getting a lot of attention at present.
Great post Cyan. Thanks for the insight and opinion.
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