It’s All About The Niche: The Future of Social Media

     Over a billion people worldwide are connected through social media. It has become a social utility, the same way electricity is a home utility. It’s a part of our lives and, given that, we want it our way.

YouTube gave us the ability to share videos. Facebook gave us real, efficient personal networks, and Twitter allows us to broadcast anything, from celebrity drug binges to political uprisings, around the world, in real time.

We can communicate in any form, at any time. The question is how long will we continue to communicate on the same Big 3 social media platforms?

Stay with me on here…

Remember when TV was just 3 major TV networks?

What happened next? Cable.

And then? Cable “niche” networks.

News, nature, sports, food, movies, travel, construction, weddings,  tech, fashion, women, men, and so on and so on…

Now there are cable networks for almost anything someone may be interested in.

Which takes me back to my main point, how long will the Big 3 have a monopoly over social media platforms?

I predict the market will demand new “niche” platforms over the next 5 years.

LinkedIn, a pre-eminent social network for professionals, is an example. Another is the recent purchase of Myspace by a group headed by Justin Timberlake. Justin plans to make Myspace a musician-friendly social network.

So how long do you think teenagers are going to continue to want their parent’s sending friend requests on Facebook? How long will employees tolerate a fear of termination because they called their boss a jerk on Twitter? It is only a matter of time before some 15-year-old whiz creates a good social network for teenagers, like Teentime.com,  or an unhappy employee creates something like 9 to 5.com. BTW, those are not real social networks … yet.

Facebook was grounded in its exclusivity. With over 500 millions members, that is no longer possible.

The future of social media is all about the niche.

Wait and see.