(2018-12-25) The Year Social Networks Were No Longer Social

The year social networks were no longer social. The concept of wide networks of social ties with an element of broadcasting is dead.

If you’ve been active on the web for long enough, you may have fond memories of internet forums

Fragmentation was key.

When you look at your list of friends, they are your Facebook friends not because you share a hobby, but because you’ve know them for a while.

So here we are, with your lousy neighbor sharing a sexist joke in your Facebook feed.

One of the key pillars of social networks is the broadcasting feature. You can write a message, share a photo, make a story and broadcast them to your friends and followers. But broadcasting isn’t scalable.

Algorithms recommend some content based on engagement, and guess what? The most outrageous, polarizing content always ends up at the top of the pile.

In other words, as social networks become bigger, content becomes garbage.

Private communities (Social Warrens)

Now that we’ve reached a social network dead end, it’s time to build our own digital house.

Group messaging has been key.

And if you have interesting things to say, do it on your own terms. Create a blog instead of signing up to Medium.