The future of social media 🔮
Here's where we think social media is heading
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Tweet tweet, you have a new newsletter!! Social media is nifty sometimes, isn’t it. To think we went from the good ol’ days of MySpace to TikTok and Threads. Everything is the same but just repackaged differently. This isn’t a history lesson, but more of a look into the future of social media now that we have a Twitter competitor by Meta. We want to look into how Threads is going to change the social landscape or IF it’s going to change it. So join me on this fun little adventure where we take a deep dive into the high school-ish clique-like world of social media.
The history 🕰️
The freshmen: the first social media platforms
Okay so generally people (by people I mean, our generation) assume the first social media was MySpace or Facebook or even Friendster when it was neither. The first EVER was a website called Six Degrees. It launched in 1997 with features we see regularly now such as profiles, friend lists and school affiliations. And while millions of users registered, not a lot of people had internet so networks were limited and it was going to be a while until the internet’s infrastructure could catch up.
Friendster built on the idea that everyone is separated by six degrees. It introduced a feature that showed how a user was connected to strangers and it made meeting new people less intimidating and safer. Due to the inability to scale the platform to keep up with the demand, the website saw many technical errors, so the users crossed the enemy lines to MySpace.
The sophomores: the middle children
These websites are forgotten; they were popular once, but time and Facebook are great levellers. These websites are MySpace and Orkut. MySpace experienced great success as a rival to Friendster. It also seems like a predecessor to Tumblr with how it was so focused on music bands, profile customisation, and being a breeding ground for online stalking; whereas Orkut was just lost in oblivion. Orkut was launched by Google in 2004 and was invite only. Because of the exclusivity, the website never took off with the American masses but was really popular with the youth in India and Brazil.
And something embarrassing is that I thought Orkut was a Twitter predecessor but writing this newsletter has been very eye-opening.
The seniors: jocks
Anyone who has seen The Social Network knows why Facebook is filed under jocks. Jocks are MOSTLY bullies and so is Facebook (Meta). So in case you haven’t seen The Social Network, Zuckerberg stole the idea from the Winklevoss brothers and their partner Divya Narendra. Facebook started as a website exclusively for Harvard students, but was later made available to the masses. Facebook has also been known for getting in hot water due to controversies regarding privacy issues. To be fair, Facebook was bound to land in controversies because the inception of the website itself was controversial.
Then comes Twitter (originally, twttr), our oh-so-beloved controversial bird app. It was originally like a Facebook wall where users would send out mundane life updates like how they’re cleaning their apartments or walking their dogs. Twitter also introduced hashtags a year after launching, which set it apart from competitors. We now have a new mean girl on the block: enter Threads. More on that if you keep reading teehee.
The popular new kids
Oh Instagram and Snapchat, where would influencers be without the both of you. Although YouTube started the influencer culture, Instagram and Snapchat is what popularised it further, helping creators make millions. Instagram was different: it was Twitter but with pictures. Started out as random images being posted and being in the moment (kind of like BeReal). There were no feed aesthetics, no stories, no reels, just pure vibes. But of course with growing success we saw many, many changes, and it still remains THE app.
Snapchat was a one-of-a-kind app for its time, tapping into the temporary and fleeting nature of life. You would send people pictures that would vanish after opening, and it also brought us the concept of stories and filters. It was a fan favourite at once but now it has sadly fell off. It was a teen haven.
I’m sorry, who?
Time for honourable mentions to three apps that will forever and ever be a part of all of us, Tumblr, Vine and Pinterest. Out of the three, Pinterest is still going strong and has real good potential to be used for marketing. Tumblr is still active but it can’t play with the seniors or the popular kids unless 2014 indie aesthetic makes a come back. And then we have Vine. Vine revolutionised video and short-form content, and I like to call it the TikTok predecessor, except funnier. 6 seconds to get a point across? REVOLUTIONARY. And it was wonderful while it lasted.
The future 🔮
Let’s look the social media landscape right now. It’s… something. It’s everything. It’s less social, more advertising. Videos are huge but there seems to be a lack in creativity because people are afraid of stepping out the box of the aesthetic or niche they’ve caged themselves in. This is building on one of our recent newsletter issues, where we talked about multi-passionates and how social media isn’t ready for them yet. It’s like you have to fit in box or an aesthetic to succeed.
Video
If you ask me, video content will stay and dominate online spaces. With TikTok increasing the duration slowly, long-form videos are coming back. Slowly but surely. So if you have ever wanted to start a YouTube channel, now’s the time. It’s YouTube’s second coming.
Photo
Platforms favour video content more because it’s engaging and keeps users on the apps longer, but TikTok’s carousel feature means photos are also here to stay, given that there’s multiple of them. Photo dumps will remain popular, and I’m guessing there’s going to be a lot more experimentation with what gets posted and expressed through them.
Audio
Podcasts are popping up everywhere. People love them and it’s the easiest way to get into long-form content creation. Everybody seems to be doing it but not everyone’s good at it. They’re also turned into video content for Instagram and TikTok, especially the ones that like to preach about a millionaire, grindset, mindset. I’m 50/50 on audio platforms, because it is one of those things where you TRULY have to show your personality, because physical features won’t cut it like on Instagram and TikTok.
Text
So this is Threads, Twitter and Tumblr domain. These are the true shitposting platforms. Twitter has seen its fair share of controversies after it was acquired by Elon Musk. And now with Threads coming into the picture, we have slowly started to shift perspective. With Twitter, a lot of things were politicised or made more complicated.
Instagram’s new app, Threads, is seen by some as a “Twitter replica but cuter”, which is true. It’s a new app with a lot of features missing, but with great potential. Content creators on Instagram can leverage their following and ask their communities to head over to Threads, where they can show their true personality through text-based content. So far, criticism of Threads (besides its limited features) has been centred around the pretty-boring content that’s permeating the platform. It seems like Instagram influencers and brand accounts are taking to Threads to post vague statements that wouldn’t get any traction on Twitter, because they’re not funny or interesting enough… And as it happens with all Twitter alternatives, the content tends to be very meta (pun not intended), which means that you see a lot of content on the platform that talks about the platform itself. It takes a while for any new platform to really take off and reach a point where the content seems natural and not forced, or at least to reach a point where it has found its own purpose as a platform and its own voice and style of content. So far, I wouldn’t say Threads has that; it’s a Twitter alternative after all, without much uniqueness to offer. So let’s see how that goes: will users keep posting on Twitter because that feels more natural, or will they flock to Threads and actually change their social media consumption habits for something new with potential to be better?
Bottom line
Social media is constantly changing, but it’s not massive changes, nothing you can’t keep up with. Staying up to date is difficult, but to make it easier for you, social media is going back to the basics. There’s a rise in people wanting to be authentic, to find themselves, and meet like-minded people. We’re slowly breaking from niche/aesthetic cages and experimenting more. Photo dumps were a clear sign that shitposting is coming back (unfiltered, more honest, less curated), and with Threads, I think the idea is solidifying more.
Social media is headed towards a place where soon people will start to present themselves as human and complex beings again. My advice? Be yourself on social media and drop the overly-curated aesthetics and niches that don’t allow you to be authentic. Embrace the cringe.
Any questions/suggestions as to what we should cover next? Reach out to us and we’re always here to chat!
— Written by Shaurya, Trends Reporter at The Z Link
Connect with Shaurya on Instagram where she shares great content and lives her best influencer life as a fashion student in Paris. And she writes all of these great issues too. What can’t she do??? 🧐 Thank you for reading!