Rise of Social Networks, Essay Example

Humans are social creatures by default. The people we associate with or those around us define who we are. Decisions on where to take meals or what to eat, what to buy, where to buy the product, or where to visit based on social relationships. The relationships come in through networking; a system enabled through social media. It is truly the world of social networking, with Facebook being one of the leading social networking sites. Mark Zuckerberg is the person behind Facebook, a site with close to a billion users (Biswajit and Jyoti 228).  However, the need for alternatives aimed at having some exclusive audience is what drives other innovators to develop new social sites.

So far, Facebook has broken the record as the largest technology IPO in history. Facebook domineered in the world until some people thought that social was at its end. Facebook is a social site in which everyone wishes to have an account. People have gone a head and described Facebook as the sun- it is the gravitational center, where everything social revolves around it. There is always the desire for other innovators to develop other competing social network sites. New social network sites come up on a daily process, thus crowding. However, despite the crowdedness, it does not stop new players from entering the market.

Competition is the order of the day especially when it comes to business and innovation. It is actually the reason behind the betterment of service provision for the social sites. Reports reveal that the Winklevoss twins, who have had a legal battle with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook, have invested $1 million in SumZero. This is a social network set up by Divya Narendra and Aaalap Mehadevia (Harvard alumnus).  SumZero is a social network aimed at professional investors that currently has approximately 7,500 members sharing trading ideas. Its forecasted future is seemingly bright, as more investors that are professional would join.

“The top 1 per cent of internet user” is yet another social network launched by Swedish entrepreneur Erik Wachtmeister.  Before that, Erick had a similar network named “a small world”, which came into being at the same time as Facebook (Biswajit and Jyoti 225). Another social networking site is “Best of All Worlds”, which is an invitation-only site designed to enable users to find events and contacts. Its principal audience includes leaders in their field e.g. the media, investment banks, fashion personnel’s or the politicians. It is a social site with a promising future as it had approximately 20,000 members by the time of its launch. “Best of all worlds” is a site that only allows members to access city guides, see those attending stylish parties, events and premiere leagues, and view recommendations of others.

Pinterest is another popular virtual pinboard. It is reportedly to have approximately 10 million new users monthly (Pérez-Latre, Francisco Blanco, Idoia, and Sanchez 66).  According to Silicon Valley, an uber-investor Ron Conway Pinterest is likely to be at Facebook’s position in the next five years.  Thumb is a close associate of Pinterest that offers the community with instant opinions. Any user that asks questions expects to receive more than 60 answers from fellow users in a span of 5 minutes. The instantaneous communication and community engagement has enabled Thumb to compete with Facebook. Thumb’s average usage currently seconds Facebook. It is far much ahead of Pinterest though it is a mainstream service provider.

The Muslims not left out in the networking field and they have formed their site called “the pipeline”. This is a social networking site in the Salam World. This is a site aimed at being a “family-friendly” site. The pipeline has a built-in translation to enable connection with members in other countries. The social site is somewhat a Russian-Turkish business. It sets to launch countries that have a predominantly Muslim population as Indonesia and Malaysia.

Other social networking sites include:

• Reddit in Australia
• FanPop in the UK
• The StockTwits
• Google Plus in Brazil
• Ping – a music-sharing network by Apple CEO, Tim Cook
• Google Buzz, Yahoo Buzz, the Wave
• The Instagram, Food spotting, Fitocracy, BlueRun Ventures etc

One would wonder how these launchings are growing at a tremendous rate.  In fact, research shows that the niche social networks are actually gaining an increased market share.  James Murray, the Experian Digital Insights Manager describes the reason behind the success and growth of the social network sites. With the increased competition, networks are trying to offer something different to the users. The curious social network users always want to find out what is new, and out of curiosity, they end up becoming members.

Before someone comes up with a viable idea, then he or she must have identified a gap in the market. To share the content, the innovator develops a new method to connect and sharing. He or she invests in advertisements while predicting a profile of niche of the social networks for at least 12 months. Through this, newcomers are able to lower the barriers to entry into the market, thus the increased number of launchings.

Whatever that accounts for the competitive ability of the other social network sites over Facebook is the markedly different approach and focus. Pinterest, Thumb, and Foodspottings focus on enabling users to and revolve around their interests first. On the other hand, Facebook focuses on personal relationships of the users. It offers a social utility that enhances the deepening of social connectivity.  Facebook users’ networking revolves around the already existing friends and social graphs. This marks a weakness in Facebook, through which the other sites have seen a loophole. New interest-based social networks have the capability of enabling users express their views and interests in a new and engaging manner. They offer authentic and high value connectivity with new people. This different approach based on the interest of users empowers the massive growth of new social network services.

In conclusion, social network sites are particularly essential in our daily lives. They add value to life, and those who have been users can attest to this. In fact, social network users are just but addicts. They can criticize every site while telling the worthiness and the limitations following a given site.  The increasing number of social networks is to the advantage of the users. Developers improvise better means of offering services, to gain a competitive advantage, which advantages the users (Eve, St.,Zuckerman, and Michael 22).  Pinterest, for example, can enable connection of professionals. A person interested in purchasing a car, can simply connect with the seller. Whoever is interested with architecture can easily connect with a fellow architecture; businesspersons can meet their clients in a very simple manner, and so forth. Generally, social sites are not only social, but they would play a major role of connecting one with a person who would bring a complete turnover of his or her life.

Work cited

Biswajit,Sahoo and Jyoti Shankar. Social Networking Sites: A Critical Analysis of Its Impact on Personal and Social Life. International Journal of Business & Social Science. Vol. 2 Issue 14, (2011), p222-228. 7p

Kun Zhao; Karsai, Márton, and Bianconi, Ginestra Entropy of Dynamical Social Networks.. PLoS ONE., Vol. 6 Issue 12, (2011) p1-7. 7p

Bir Sosyal A? and Analizi Çali?mas?. A Study of Social Network Analysis: The Âyan of Bursa in the Late 18th Century.  . Journal of Gazi Academic View. Vol. 5 Issue 10, (2012), p39-49. 11p.

Eve, Amy J. St.,Zuckerman, and Michael A. Ensuring An Impartial Jury In The Age Of Social Media.  Duke Law & Technology Review. 2012, p1-29. 29p

Pérez-Latre, Francisco Javier, Blanco, Idoia Portilla, and Sanchez, Cristina. Social Networks, Media and Audiences: A Literature Review. Comunicación y Sociedad., Vol. 24 Issue 1, (2011),  p63-74. 12p.