In a separate comment (because Marco Polo deserves its own comment/thread :-), I also would like to point out that GitHub is also a social network, that it has had a lot of evolutions since Microsoft's acquisition in 2018, and that the crucial superpower of GitHub, which is to reduce friction around forking, is also the main novelty of TikTok. It bears a mention that forking in the context of user-generated context has also been used successfully in other niche social networks (https://scratch.mit.edu/).
I think this is an argument to think broadly about social networks, and not just look at the innovations of a small cluster of ad-supported, lowest-common denominator platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, which, truthfully, do not represent the best tech has to offer.
Casey, when you talk about "social networks" — do you mean "ad-support social networks"? Are the ad-supported ones, by virtue of the fact that they are built for growth (as a consequence of the ad-based model), the only social networks you are interested in?
If not, I must say I am sad you never mention Marco Polo, not even in this article looking broadly at competitiveness across social networks.
Marco Polo has a socially responsible business model, an amazingly original video-first design with a lot of custom-engineered tech (for instance for the seamless realtime video streaming), and is, as far as I know, one of the only social networks not to use dark or viral design patterns to boost engagement. It deserves to be checked out, and certainly deserves at least a shout out if you're describing the rebirth of competition among social networks:
There truly is a feeling in the air that more interesting things are happening in social tech. To me there are a few factors at play: for one the tech giants are struggling under their own size and complexity. Gone are the days of quick nimble change. Now everything is tied up with everything else, there are so many managers to consult, and everyone is watching their moves so closely including the government. They’re bulls in their own china shops, and the scrutiny is giving them performance anxiety. Amid that distraction I think others see opportunity and aren’t as scared to go for it, including VCs.
Second is that I feel there’s a new way of thinking that seems like a generational change. The TikTok way of thinking is something that I couldn’t see coming out of Facebook. The algorithmic newsfeed was their high water mark of innovation in that generation, and now there are a bunch of new kids being popular in ways that established players don’t, maybe can’t understand.
Lastly i don’t think the threat of government intervention can be under-estimated. The Bill Gates interview with Kara Swisher touched on the antitrust suit, and Gates said it was a severe distraction afterwards even if Microsoft didn’t get broken up, so much that he felt maybe windows phone would have been where Android is now. I lol’d a bit at that one but the thought has stuck with me.
Whatever the reasons it’s neat to see even if some old habits are clinging to the newer generation, like moderation paralysis and the grow-now-monetize-later playbook. Aside, how about that tidbit about Google News and Spain? Remind me of something, something recent...
In a separate comment (because Marco Polo deserves its own comment/thread :-), I also would like to point out that GitHub is also a social network, that it has had a lot of evolutions since Microsoft's acquisition in 2018, and that the crucial superpower of GitHub, which is to reduce friction around forking, is also the main novelty of TikTok. It bears a mention that forking in the context of user-generated context has also been used successfully in other niche social networks (https://scratch.mit.edu/).
I think this is an argument to think broadly about social networks, and not just look at the innovations of a small cluster of ad-supported, lowest-common denominator platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat, which, truthfully, do not represent the best tech has to offer.
Casey, when you talk about "social networks" — do you mean "ad-support social networks"? Are the ad-supported ones, by virtue of the fact that they are built for growth (as a consequence of the ad-based model), the only social networks you are interested in?
If not, I must say I am sad you never mention Marco Polo, not even in this article looking broadly at competitiveness across social networks.
Marco Polo has a socially responsible business model, an amazingly original video-first design with a lot of custom-engineered tech (for instance for the seamless realtime video streaming), and is, as far as I know, one of the only social networks not to use dark or viral design patterns to boost engagement. It deserves to be checked out, and certainly deserves at least a shout out if you're describing the rebirth of competition among social networks:
https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/21/21222523/marco-polo-app-social-distancing-pandemic
There truly is a feeling in the air that more interesting things are happening in social tech. To me there are a few factors at play: for one the tech giants are struggling under their own size and complexity. Gone are the days of quick nimble change. Now everything is tied up with everything else, there are so many managers to consult, and everyone is watching their moves so closely including the government. They’re bulls in their own china shops, and the scrutiny is giving them performance anxiety. Amid that distraction I think others see opportunity and aren’t as scared to go for it, including VCs.
Second is that I feel there’s a new way of thinking that seems like a generational change. The TikTok way of thinking is something that I couldn’t see coming out of Facebook. The algorithmic newsfeed was their high water mark of innovation in that generation, and now there are a bunch of new kids being popular in ways that established players don’t, maybe can’t understand.
Lastly i don’t think the threat of government intervention can be under-estimated. The Bill Gates interview with Kara Swisher touched on the antitrust suit, and Gates said it was a severe distraction afterwards even if Microsoft didn’t get broken up, so much that he felt maybe windows phone would have been where Android is now. I lol’d a bit at that one but the thought has stuck with me.
Whatever the reasons it’s neat to see even if some old habits are clinging to the newer generation, like moderation paralysis and the grow-now-monetize-later playbook. Aside, how about that tidbit about Google News and Spain? Remind me of something, something recent...