Interesting! Beyond TikTok, what do YOU think the future of social media might look like?https://www.socialfresh.com/history-of-social-netw…

Read the article and write 100 words discussion and reply 2 students’ comments.

student 1:Interesting to read this timeline! I had one more to add to the mix – Bebo (Links to an external site.)!? Did anyone else use this? They went bankrupt in 2013 but looks like they relaunched earlier this year..

The current debate over Facebook and their policies leads me to believe that the next step in social media is going to be a review of algorithms and how content is amplified to users. I think it’s hard to ignore the fact that extreme content, ones which are deemed as ‘clickbait’, are the messages which spread the most. As pockets of extremism and the impact of using social media start to come more to the forefront I think that there will be an overriding sentiment that these organization or governments should do more to regulate themselves. They are not simply sitting back and letting the users do the damage, they are active participants in allowing for some messages and content to spread rapidly and the rise of misinformation is huge and creating potentially dangerous echo chambers (Links to an external site.) and polarisation for users.

Free speech is something which people feel very strongly about, and rightly so, and is not something I want to delve into here but I do think there is a distinction between allowing free speech and when companies cross a line by then actively amplifying these messages, like Facebook processes which amplify the types of free speech which are violent/hate inducing/bad for mental health as these are the ones which people are drawn to and therefore ones which will increase profit for the company.

So, I’m not sure what the actual platforms will look like in the future, I would hazard a guess that it will be video based but my gut reaction on this is that the majority of the public will (though this might be my echo chamber talking) lean towards there being more transparency on how these platforms advertise and push messaging to others. As the darker underbelly of companies like Facebook are more exposed they will have to adapt and react in order to remain relevant. The rise of Tik Tok for example shows that people’s attention will move.

On writing this I know that how I feel about the current news swirling around Facebook has greatly influenced my response and I do feel mixed about the idea that these companies should be more regulated but they’re developing at such a speed that policies, and human brains, can’t keep up but we do know how much they’re impacting the world around us. The advancement of social media could be for the better and I hope that they continue to develop in a useful and positive way but without debates and constant scrutiny and possibly more regulations I fear they could develop negatively leading us into a strange and dark world!

student 2: It’s hard for me to look too far ahead on what the future of social media will be. What i’ve learned based on the history of innovations in the digital world is that many happen by accidents or turn out to be something completely different than what they were intended to be. I think once those in the continue to create and experiment the future basically reveals itself through trial and error. However, there are some trends that are slowly but surely being implemented that I believe will become a given for all social media marketing in no time. My definition of a social media innovation, or an innovation of any kind for that matter (hello contactless payment, I side-eye anyone company that doesn’t offer it), being the norm is when consumers begin to expect it from companies as opposed to it being a nice feature being offered.

One is definitely Augmented Reality. I have seen the use of it as a marketing tool continue to increase. Consumers can try out anything from clothes, to beauty products, to even furniture in their homes using AR. The pandemic definitely showed the need for this option and I think it’ll only be a matter of time before customers expect it. Let’s not forget the increased usage of filters. So many brands have collaborated with social media platforms to create branded filters.

Another trend is e-commerce in social media. Most platforms now offer a feature for consumers to shop while on them. It’s a create tool for businesses and it definitely great for user experience, dangerous for the bank account though. I know as a consumer there were many times why something on social media caught my eye but i didn’t want to leave the app to make a purchase and I would save it for later but then forget all about it. The new e-commerce social media add ins definitely takes into account the short attention span of humans.

The last innovation I think will become quite popular although i’m not entirely sure how it will be implemented is image search. Big companies have created these search tools to implement image search. Pinterest has Pinterest Lens (Links to an external site.) and Google has Google Lens (Links to an external site.). Currently, it hasn’t caught on but I think brands especially can find ways to capitalize on the feature. For example, the could show alternative products they offer that are similar to the products consumers are looking for. They can also go a step further and show things that pair well with the products.