Social Networks — Remixing, User Fatigue & Shiny New Objects — Tik Tok & Facebook
While I always believed anyone could beat anyone, I also believed in “Social Investment” made by users. Users, which is you have made huge investments in platforms over the years. You have invested your time and efforts building these platforms based on your data.
Your Data is your investment in online platforms.
Because of this data, the platforms also thought you are sticky users. No, they don’t think so. The life of internet in consumer space is very short, it has already seen bubbles come and go. Technology, businesses, and users cause bubbles.
My early involvement in social networks and thankfully the “big data” revealed to me.
- Users are not loyal
- They get bored very easily
- They are always hunting for the new
- You the makers have significant biases
- Makers are not always building something Magical. They are remixing.
- Those who built, build it before it became a term in the business books
Those who understood, Remixed it very well. Many of the remixes in consumer internet were not always by design, it was by chance, by user adoption and by pure remixing into something new. No business book predicted, no consumer survey revealed or no TED talks were given on a new Tik Tok.
TikTok surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat & YouTube in downloads last month
According to data from app intelligence firm Sensor Tower, TikTok’s installs were higher than those of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube in the U.S. last month.
We will tik tok later.
For me the
Internet of today is classifieds
The Internet disrupted classifieds. Rules and Rulers of the game were changed.
Early internet was underestimated as nonserious
Google ads, the most significant online classified system changed the game
Now nonserious and ignored publishers created the new industry
Facebook was a college notice board which became consumer classifieds. It did this only with interactive classifieds system and running your publishing network for your network of family and friends.
They are many more such opportunities to classified — The new game is in serving media, games and interactivity.
Why did early social networks fail? Probably they were trying to solve more significant problems. Connecting the entire world through focussing too much on Seven Degrees of Separation and finding similar purposes. Sending a purposeful message in a bottle. They also saw what LinkedIn was doing and they got sidetracked by it. They wanted to become LinkedIn for real friends.
Friends just wanted to sit together and trash talk. Yes, the unplanned side effect will be profound moments and changing the world. The people who were changing the world went slow and steady at non-silicon-valley speed and built Open Source. They got backdoor entry into your browsers and phones.
Startups of today have a great opportunity today in breaking the Internet. If Amazon and Uber are both to be looked at, they are breaking your business. One by covering all the use case under e-commerce and one by covering one use case. Look carefully Uber is also building more use cases, it would be a big loss to take FOCUS too literally. That's for readers and highlight analysis, not for doers.
Just for controversy, I also hold other views. I can hold multiple views. That’s completely okay.
Startups have never been focussed. They search for shiny new objects They search for problems to solve. Initial startups solve the problem. They Come and Go. The billion-dollar success that you see today, is a good implementor of tried and tested.
To give a wild comment —
To celebrate Tesla & Elon Musk, I wouldn’t forget the work of others who have participated in the game much before. If you heard of Simulation Theory today, that’s not my problem.
I want that Shiney New Object
Not just from the user side but also from the business side. Facebook acquired WhatsApp at billions. This was shocking to the Wastern side of the planet, not too the eastern side of the planet. Facebook was also good at identifying Instagram’s potential.
A less talked about a point.
Messenger and Photos have covered the language and participation barrier of the Internet.
Remember…
- To take that photo you are not searching for a good camera, its already there with you. You are not searching for an object to click. It's anything in front of you. You are not panicking for photo transfers, its already been uploaded.
- To get that joke in Hindi you are not going anywhere. It’s coming to your handphone. Most probably you will react by a like or emoticon.
Tik Tok has provided a new remixing tool. Now the user gratification is not that you liked my content. The user gratification is “I made something and got likes on it”.
The new generation of users coming on to the internet are not going to follow their elders or senior internet. Your current products are already outdated for them. Only new recent introduction to them regarding hardware was Amazon Eco and going from touch to commands. No wonder, initially they are just commanding it for playing pop music.
Yet another worry for the current internet biggies. Damn, they never stop chasing the new.
Understanding User Fatigue
The young users are not finding the right engaging stimulus in the standard school system in content. They find the nonuseful stimulus online to keep their minds engages. Both the incidents of boredom but of different kinds.
While Facebook & Mr. Mark Z is criticized for many things. I find him cool for these 2 things.
- Making Hoodies cool in boardrooms
- Not underestimating the competition and new developments for users.
He knows what is user fatigue, how users get bored quickly, how they need constant stimulus on any internet property. Good or bad, I shall not comment.
The Internet itself is seeing big boring mouse and keyboard internet, it adjusted for the small screen, the poor thing has to gear up for Voice — Amazon Eco
Youngsters too are already fatigued by consumption. They are probably getting a stimulus of interactivity and doing their own thing. Just like your grandparents felt when they moved from Shops to Malls, just like your parents felt when switching to Amazon and just like how these youngsters will feel by getting new options for their fingers, clicks, and sense of producing something.
Facebook is already tik toking. Wait for sometime.
School education apps have lot to learn from properties like Facebook & Tik Tok.
Product Development & Startups
If you are starting up.
- Don’t underestimate tried and tested ideas — Always remember remixing of classifieds
- Avoid user fatigues — bugs, longer steps, less documentation and ignoring if someone else is doing it better. The list is very long.
- After the product stabilization, you cannot avoid Shiney new objects. For your users or the boardroom.
Warning — The author is highly biased and holder of no fixed opinions.
Feel free to comment :-)
