Today is the one day of the year where we can all make predictions about what will happen over the next twelve months without first having to set up a small tent, wear a turban and charge people £5 to have their palms read. It's for that exact reason I am here now, about to predict a load of things that may or may not happen during the next year in the field that I know best about: Social bloody media. If you were expecting predictions about the impending doom of mankind then I can only apologise.
Wild predictions about wild social media times.
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| Wild times. |
Facebook
Facebook had an odd 2012. I'm sure it thought that people would love it regardless of whether or not it sold its soul in favour of making the platform all about advertising and not at all about usability, but turns out it was wrong. Lots of people turned their noses up at the idea of paying to promote their posts and being able to send mail to complete strangers simply by parting with their loose change meaning Facebook's plans to make more money might have actually had an adverse effect.
The Future:
This year I think we'll see more of the same. Facebook lost money when it released its shares for the first time and as a result the site had to find more ways of bringing cash in. This meant more ads, more payable options and ultimately a less enjoyable experience for the average user. Expect more of this type of update to follow, sorry.
Twitter
The flip side of Facebook having a bit of a downer was that Twitter became the perfect place to complain about it. Free of all the ugly ads Facebook offers and with a much more visually pleasing interface, Twitter continued to be one of the most important social media tools in 2012, bringing us breaking news way before most established news sites and providing us with juicy insights into the inner turmoil of a multitude of celebrities. Ashley Cole, you dog, you simply cannot call your bosses that.
The Future:
Heartbreak: Twitter and Instagram called it quits last year meaning one of the site's main allies was now fighting for the other side. This caused two things: First of all the battle lines were clearly drawn, we were no longer living in the big social circle we thought we were. And secondly: Twitter now had to go it alone. It did this by creating its own photo filters reducing the need for users to stick with Instagram and giving us a hint at the direction the site might be going in 2013. Look out for further photo updates and a much more independent Twitter in the months to come.
Instagram
Why Instagram, why? You were so lovely and nice and everyone spoke so highly of you, but then you had to go and sell your soul to the devil and lose any sense of the individuality that made you so popular in the first place. I never share your pictures with Facebook and you stopped me being able to do it with the site that was perfect for you. Sure, you made a bucket load of money, but you lost a few buckets worth of users in the process.
The Future:
More ads, more suspicious terms and conditions updates, more being Facebook's lap dog and doing everything they tell them to do. I think 2013 could be the year we see a whole host of new photo sharing social media sites come into prominence, especially as Flickr and Tumblr both support Twitter with their photos (meaning you can see them in your newsfeed without having to go to a separate site.) Facebook obviously wants Instagram for itself, but that move could seriously damage the asset it spent so much money on buying.
Google Plus
Erm...
Anyone?
No?
The Future:
It's difficult to feel sorry for one of the most powerful internet companies in the history of the world, but I do find myself getting a little sympathetic for Google's latest social media efforts. The claims were huge in 2011, a lot of people got very excited about the potential of a social media site so intrinsically linked with all their other online activities, but two years later we're still only looking at potential and not a lot else. Their only saving grace might be their business pages which boost the business's SEO value and shove them up the Google search results. But that's a little bit sneaky and won't really help attract individual users. I predict it will turn to drink to we'll find it weeping in a car park somewhere.
The Others
2012 was the year we saw Myspace chance its arm at a comeback and I think this year that comeback could really take hold. The music service it offers is very nice and it looks a lot better than most other social offerings in a similar mould. We also saw another pretender to the throne in the form of Pheed, a site I am still using just in case it gets good. It looks really stylish but it is basically a scrappy mash up of Twitter and Facebook, ie: a service I don't really need because it already exists. Flickr continued to house my poor attempts at photography and Tumblr continued to be my second choice in terms of blogging platforms (I heart you, Blogger) and neither of those really come under the social media advertising radar just yet. That could well change though as Tumblr's CEO is reportedly looking at ways to make his site more financially viable (LOLcats don't make you a dime, you know) so I'll keep my bespectacled eyes on the horizon.
Have a good 2013, thanks for reading.