Where Are They Now?
In the dawn of ‘Social Media’ time there were just a few platforms to choose from. Back in the day of trying to figure out what all of this social media business was about… there were a few movers and shakers that through their hat in the social media arena hoping to be on top of the next big thing. Did they survive the test of time? This was a huge unknown to everyone, and there would be a lot of trial and error involved in the process of learning the possibilities. I will dare to say social media has come a long way baby! And where are those shakers now…
AOL Instant Messanger (AIM)
“You’ve got mail”… the saying was made popular by AOL and so began a huge movement of online chatting in the 90′s. It rose above competitors like CompuServe to become the top internet service provider for US households. Million of users paid AOL monthly for the ability to sign online. That desperately-trying-not-to-sound robotic voice was the beginning of the first mass of email accounts and thus the beginning of online chatting and social networking we know today. A group of engineers helped take AIM from inception to dominance, then got to watch it all fall apart all the while trying to convince AOL management that free was the future. In November of 1994 AOL still charged an hourly fee to be logged on to its service, even still AIM’s impact on the future of online interaction was undeniable.
This was the beginning of the buddy list that has since evolved into friends and followers we all know today. You no longer had to ask if your friends or buddies were online, they were the first with the capability to tell you before you wanted to know who was online and waiting to chat.
In August of 1996 AOL switched from an hourly rate to a flat monthly rate. Users could finally be on the internet for hours on end. Imagine that… I’ll venture to say that there are some of you that just can’t imagine not being connected 24/7. It sure was a different time. AIM was originally designed to exist apart from AOL but engineers soon realized it would need to be able to communicate inside AOL’s program. AIM became a bridge into the internet.
Like a ghost town in the west, AIM still functions and AOL is doing reasonably well despite missed opportunities. It is now the leading video ad server on the web and is working to compete with major players on internet advertising. The question stands… will they ever recover as the powerhouse they once were being a feature in Hollywood movies?
Myspace
Destined to fail or finally make it’s way to the mainstream again? Of course only time will tell, but they have been hanging on a long time now. The 20 and 30 somethings and some dedicated older generations just keep them chug chug chugging along.
In 2003 Myspace was created to mimic, then popular Friendster, taking all of its best features. The first users were Myspace employees that had contests to see who could sign up the most subscribers. The LA based company was acquired by News Corporation for 580 million dollars in 2005, and in October of 2008 it peaked with 76 million unique users in the United States. Annoyed by a galumphing experience and the rise of Facebook, users fled. Myspace was a goat by 2010.
Insert the hot and talented Justin Timberlake. Ok I’m not at all the boy band type, but you can’t deny his looks or his talent. The dude has it going on. Well, not so much for Myspace though. Specific Media partnered with Timberlake and a few other daring investors with deep pockets. They bought Myspace for a measly 35 million dollars. This is chump change compared to the 580 million it sold for in 2005. Probably looked like a hole-in-one to the “deep pockets” at first glance.
The good, the rad and what were they thinking…
Myspace recently unveiled a new look, making a push for a comeback, and became a popular spot for bands to post new music and connect with followers. But, then they followed that up with a sketchy tactic to get users back. Apparently, Myspace found it necessary to keep a database of all it’s users most unsavory photos they posted. They launched a campaign to “refresh your memory.” Myspace emailed former members their old and embarrassing photos in an attempt to lure them back. Now who’s bright idea was that? I’d like to know.
In June of 2011 the powers that be decided they should throw a big party to launch this sucker of a social media magpie and finally get it off the ground. Well, apparently with a fine man like JT does not come a fine organizational team. People that are used to handling big events (Uh JT was involved) should have had a small thing like Myspace covered. Before anyone knew it there were lines around the block, lines of people that did not swarm to Myspace… JT high tailed it out early with a brunette. His exact involvement is still vague but it seems he did not manage to ‘Bring Sexy Back’ to Myspace. Traffic to the site is waning; falling to a mere 5.4 million unique US visitors just this past March. And we hear layoffs have been rampant. This will be yet another revisit in the future but I do believe that Myspace will survive the test of time.
Foursquare
Founded in 2009, Foursquare opened with limited availability worldwide and only in metro areas. In 2010 they changed their check-ins to any location worldwide, and in 2011 Foursquare reached 7 million users. In 2012 they launched a whole new, major redesign including browsing locations by category, “likes” similar to Facebook, and an introduction into ratings later that year. In a nutshell, Foursquare was showing progress and provided a unique service. Unfortunately, what made them so unique, the “check-ins,” became the main staple of many other platforms, including Facebook. And over the past couple years, Foursquare has gotten lost in the abyss of social networks.
The Now… FourSquare recently announced they are making the biggest changes to date. The new Foursquare is now a “recommendations” app that no longer has anything to do with location sharing and everything to do with, using their words, “smacking down Yelp using the force of a thousand suns.”
They have split their main app into two separate experiences… Swarm for social location sharing and messaging, and Foursquare for personalized location recommendations. Swarm was launched as a separate app a while ago by Foursquare. It has shown some growth, but some folks don’t like this change, or the separation. Why not keep it all in one easy app package? As with Facebook and their new Messenger app, many are not taking too kindly to Swarm.
The new Foursquare app is based on followers, not friends, much like Twitter. And it looks and feels completely different. So, if you’re not up for change then you won’t like what you see, but remember most of the time change is good. Let’s give it a chance.
Where Is This Headed
This is the first part in a series reviewing social platforms that have come and gone, have yet to arrive and those who have made it baby! We will be watching to see where Myspace, Foursquare, AIM and even Friendster are in the next five years. It will also be interesting to see what other up n’ comers throw their hat in the social media ring, and see those who lose the next bout. It seems right now there is a platform happening for everyone (see our recent bog link below). Will that continue, or will there be another giant in the making? Someone will undoubtedly come up with “bigger and better” when it comes to social media. It has been enlightening to revisit these oldies but goodies, and we can’t wait to see what’s next. You can be sure we are watching for whatever it coming next.
To be continued…
BLOG : A Platform forEveryone — www.sourballpython.com/blog/a-platform-for-everyone/
-By Antonette Martucci
