Ask HN: Is there scope for any new social networks? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is there scope for any new social networks?

5 pointsyashg3 comments

For all the talks about Facebook dying, Twitter exploding and boycotting Reddit, is there really any room for a new social network that can realistically replace any of these? People have been writing obituaries of Twitter since the day Elon took it over and yet nobody has left it. Elon has for sure screwed up quite a few things at Twitter but it seems to be chugging along fine even with a few hiccups. For the last few days I am seeing posts about users and third party app developers protesting about Reddit's new API pricing. Many subs and apps are apparently shutting down. But is there an alternative for interest based communities like Reddit? Even if one were to build a similar service, will it ever find enough users? New social networks keep launching and some even find favors from politicians who urge their followers to follow them on these new platforms. Parler comes to mind. It seems to be dead despite having an addressable market and enough WOM in that TG. A Twitter clone also emerged in India named Koo. Haven't heard much about it off late. The network effect with the existing platforms is so strong that even Google couldn't break in even after multiple attempts.

Building a social network is not a very technically challenging task. Even a solo developer can build a rudimentary social networking app with bare minimum features. Real challenges are scaling and moderation. It seems the biggest issue facing social networks these days are moderation and privacy. That is where bulk of resources seem to go. Social networks by virtue of being built up on user generated content have to deal with a lot of unsavory content - things that could be illegal. Maintaining a balance between moderation and freedom of speech is a delicate process. National laws now dictate data of local users to be stored in respective geographies and not to be shared with overseas entities. There are demands by governments for censorship and handing over user data. And then there's core issue of keeping the business profitable which often clashes with the privacy concerns that users have.

So in all it seems like building a social network in 2023 is a hopeless endeavor.

I think there is room for another social network.

But I don't think it looks like X-except-for-not-some-bad-thing, because the people who complain about things like Reddit's API access are not many and don't have a clear use case -- I mean they want Reddit plus a tool someone else built not something different from Reddit (or Twitter that isn't Twitter, or Facebook that isn't Facebook).

But most of what they want is Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter and so Reddit, Facebook, and Twitter provide most of what they want. And that's not even most people. Most people accept the tradeoffs and go on with life and get value out of the existing platforms.

A new social network will expand the market. Make the pie bigger. Fill a different role. Let people do something they didn't know they wanted to do. It won't be capturing people who want different business models or moderation policies. Those are fringe people who have issues that they want catered to.

The important question is not, "how are people using social media?"

The important question is "how are people not using social media?"

Good luck.

Makes sense. Who knew there was space for another video sharing platform, but out of the blue came TikTok and gave a radical new twist to the good old video sharing, and created a new market.

I think you’re right. Building a social network in 2023 is a hopeless endeavor. At least social networks that are like Facebook, twitter and Reddit.

I come to my conclusion based on a couple of analytical frameworks I like to fall back on when deciding whether a business is 1. A good investment to put money into, or 2. Worth putting sweat equity into.

When I think about social networks and whether they’re a worthy endeavor I think about VRIO framework. Are social networks VALUABLE? - I guess that’s a matter of opinion, possibly in terms of the amount of data a social network can generate about all manner of things, yes, they’re probably valuable - but is the product they offer to their consumers valuable? I don’t think so - if people leave the social network, the data would become less valuable.

Are social networks RARE? No, they’re not. There are some who have brands that have more mental availability in the mind of humans like Facebook and twitter, but they’re definitely not rare, and a disadvantage of them being so common is that the cost of switching social network is low (to fall back on porters 5 forces for a moment).

Are social networks easily IMITATED? Absolutely without a doubt they are. And again, going back to porters 5 forces when the barrier to entry is low, and it’s also easily imitated, it’s really hard to maintain a competitive advantage over your competition.

Then finally, does the ORGANISATION exploit the other three things (value, rareness and inimitability)? The only thing social networks seems to exploit is its users, and their data, which I’m not necessarily sure is what would contribute to the success of a social network in the long term - however organisations like facebook, and twitter do seem to have gone the distance.

So then I guess, the other thing I think about is what are younger generations doing, and how do they engage with each other socially? Anecdotally, I see a lot of social networking happening among the youth via gaming networks that have a social network elements built into them but they also offer, in someways, a complete alternate reality and operate with a platform business model.

Maybe it’s not that social networks are an unworthy endeavor, maybe it’s just social networks like Facebook and twitter don’t really offer their consumers anything “tangible” - and maybe to imitate those social network business models is a waste of time.

I would definitely personally not invest time or money into creating a social network. I would prefer to create something that was completely different that other people haven’t thought of yet, but that lots of people would need.

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