Is this the end of social networking? • Hacker News Board

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#131

Post by jacooper » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:30 PM UTC

wincy wrote: post #85

mgraczyk wrote: post #40

TikTok is winning because it is video first. The more immersive the media, the more profitable the ads. Facebook is having trouble pivoting it's products to video. Facebook is betting big that the next more-immersive medium after video will be VR. That's basically the whole story. Notice I didn't use the word "algorithm" or "social"? These takes are tired and naive, TikTok isn't addictive in any operationally useful…

My wife deleted TikTok after a few weeks because she just couldn’t handle how addictive it was. All she wanted to do was watch TikTok. Then she started getting Shorts on YouTube now she wants to completely stop watching YouTube even if the old creators she enjoyed are still making philosophy videos and stuff, it’s just not worth it to stick around when the goal has become quite clearly to keep you hooked.

She can use custom apps for YouTube like Newpipe, which offer YouTube experiences without ads and Shorts.

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#132

Post by satyrnein » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:30 PM UTC

rsweeney21 wrote: post #70

If your stated company mission is not the thing that produces revenue then it will eventually be sacrificed for the mission that does produce revenue. Examples of mission statements that don't produce revenue: Google, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, most news organizations. Microsoft's missions in 1980 was "A computer on every desk and in every home". Their mission produced revenue. There are lots of examples of mission/r…

Most companies exist for motive X, which they do by providing value Y, then monetizing it via method Z. X is almost always "profit" and Z is something boring like selling physical items, subscriptions, ads, etc, so the mission statement is about Y.

The following statements are true but not very interesting:

Microsoft was never about computers on every desk and in every home, it was really about selling software licenses to make money!

The Super Bowl was never about football, it was really about selling ads to makes money!

Wal-Mart was never about saving people money so they could live better, it was really about selling physical items at retail to make money!

Facebook was never about connecting people, it was really about selling ads to make money!

Is the Facebook one any more insightful because the monetization strategy is advertising?

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#133

Post by superturkey650 » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:31 PM UTC

spoonjim wrote: post #125

superturkey650 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any non-rulebreaking comments that would get you banned just for expressing a distasteful idea. Can you give some examples?

No I can't, because my account would get banned. Probably under the pretext of the stated rule, "Eschew flamebait. Avoid unrelated controversies, generic tangents, and internet tropes."

Those seem to be based around the relationship of the comment to the post it is in rather than any specific idea in the comment itself. As if any comment flagged for those reasons could have the same idea expressed in a relevant post and not be flagged.

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#134

Post by groffee » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:31 PM UTC

EGreg wrote: post #65

No kidding. Facebook had so much potential, when it was deployed in universities. But then it became a social network about everything. Zuck had a lot of potential when he was thinking about P2P file sharing site Wirehog, but Sean Parker "put a bullet in that thing" and VCs like Peter "competition is for losers, build a monopoly" Thiel shaped it into a money making machine that's less about being social and more abou…

Only web 2.0?! We're up to like web 5.0 now! /s

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#135

Post by mrkramer » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:32 PM UTC

I never used TikTok but from what I heard and saw it is essentially a Vine with better UI and UX e.g. you scroll vertically for new videos and it has very good recommendation system.

P.S. I never used Vine too but then again I read and heard about it.

TikTok won because like other guy said; videos are the most immersive media and I claim that people having short attention span made them hungry for short form of entertainment like short videos.

From time to time I watch compilation of TikTok videos on YouTube and I think "compilation" as a media form is another interesting thing that somebody should experiment with.

Speaking of social networking; my understanding of social networking/media landscape is that Facebook sort of generalized social networking and social networking features and now apps like Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are specializing in photos, ephemeral sharing and short videos respectively plus WhatsApp specialized in messaging but Zuck did a great job of making Facebook Messenger a standalone app and then specializing it according to demands of messaging crowd. And yea Zuck acquired Instagram and WhatsApp along the way so competing apps don't hurt Facebook and its family of apps.

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#136

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:33 PM UTC

tmaly wrote: post #66

mulmen wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bubbles don't need to be harmful. HN is a bubble. There are ideas that are not allowed here. There are other ideas that are explicitly promoted. This is the value proposition of HN. You are free to go elsewhere to get other perspectives or interactions. This is as it should be.

I try to shake that up from time to time. It is nice to see the other side of the discussion. Groupthink is not something to strive for.

[deleted]

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#137

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:33 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#138

Post by ElSinchi » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:35 PM UTC

yreg wrote: post #130

eligro91 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. I completely blocked myself from accessing to YouTube on my smartphone and MacBook, just because of the shorts. This stuff is so addictive that I couldn't avoid it in my free time for dozens of minutes every single time I've opened youtube.

Perhaps too late for you unless you open a new account, but I seriously recomend everyone here to never ever click on a YouTube short while logged in. YouTube will proceed to show that content down your throat and if you are like most people you will let it. It will make your experience miserable though.

I've found quite effective blocking channels and actively informing yt "don't show me more like this"

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#139

Post by superturkey650 » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:35 PM UTC

mulmen wrote: post #122

superturkey650 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't think of any non-rulebreaking comments that would get you banned just for expressing a distasteful idea. Can you give some examples?

The ideas that break the rules.

There aren't any ideas that break the rules though. Just structure, tone, and context of comments/posts.

Re: Is this the end of social networking?

#140

Post by sakex » Thu, Aug 11, 2022, 10:36 PM UTC

When I think about what social medias are left, I can only think about LinkedIn. Interestingly, there seem to have been a recent surge of interest for that platform (especially all the cringe worthy posts that started to pop up).

After reading this article, I am starting to wonder if people didn't simply migrate to LinkedIn because of the degradation of Facebook's quality as a Social Network and as they still feel the need to share their lives, started sharing those cringe posts.