Remember when the three television networks were known as the Big 3? ABC, CBS and NBC dominated the television broadcasting business for several decades. Then cable came around and pretty soon channels developed that focused on certain segments. MTV gave us continuous music videos. ESPN gave us not just one all sports channels but several. Then there’s the Food Network and so on. Something similar is occurring in the digital world, and you may like it.
Big 4 of social media may be vulnerable
What goes around comes around, only a lot faster. The Big 4 of social media may be vulnerable to losing their vaunted position as top social network leaders. The Big 4 of social media – as of this moment – are Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn. Some say Twitter is growing, but not at near the same pace as Facebook, which could lead to its demise. Sometimes I think Facebook is getting “too big for its britches.” It keeps chugging along, innovating and even surpassing Google for most US visits. However, Facebook seems a bit reckless at times with our privacy and Facebook changes so much people get frustrated trying to keep up. My point? Like the old TV networks, the Big 4 of social media are vulnerable, and something different and better may be just around the corner.
Business sector focused social network websites
Business sector focused social network websites are springing up on the Internet, and doing what cable did to the broadcast networks, tightly segmenting their markets. As much as I like LinkedIn, I do sometimes get frustrated with its digital vastness. I keep track of professional service firms, accounting being one of them. Now there is an accounting-focused network site just for that industry. iShade.com is a free online professional network exclusively for the accounting profession. And SocialCPAs was apparently spawned on LinkedIn, but now has its own standalone blog site and presences on Twitter and Facebook. The appeal of these focused networking websites is their lack of unrelated clutter and focus on the business sector at hand.
Personal “small networking” sites, too
This is a fairly new trend and I’ll keep track of it and report again on it in a few weeks. On a more personal side, there is parallel trend for small networking sites for sharing pictures, videos and messages with purposely-small groups, like family and/or close friends. Site names like Path, GroupMe, Frenzy, Rally Up, Shizzlr, Huddl and Bubbla have been mentioned in the media. In fact, these sites may be laying the groundwork for the business sector focused websites. We’ll keep an eye on them, too, and keep you informed!