Video may have killed the radio star, but algorithms killed social networks
Social networks are going through a difficult time. Facebook is the only network that managed to transcend the concept of “novelty” and establish itself for a while as the world’s place to hang out online, but fatigue has set in, partly due to generational factor — no young person wants to be seen with their parents or grandparents, and it has committed too many management errors. The result is that social networks are no longer used to keep us in touch with friends and family.
Where did this happen? When did social networks become a springboard to fame, a place for influencers, a meaningless career that many have tried but few have succeeded at. In a very short time, and encouraged by the social networks themselves, people stopped sharing their news, their activities or the content they created, and started sharing other things: memes copied from other places, news, comments with viral aspirations, insults, animated GIFs and other junk. From sharing our everyday lives to a popularity contest.
At the same time, we have seen Instagram’s shift from a place to share art to hosting increasingly trashy videos. Meanwhile, Twitter, which never was or wanted to be a social network, but instead a publishing platform with very limited social functions. And on the other, the growth of instant…
