Social Media: Apply the Past to the Future
I recently read an article by Saad Fazil reviewing different location-based social media startups. In essence, the software is suffering less than rapid adoption because of a “I don’t want to disclose my location to people I don’t know” fear. And that’s valid. Props to everyone running these startups, it doesn’t look easy.
But I wonder: is there an theory behind this? Has anyone studied how humans, especially technology first-adopters, cluster, make friendships, judge potential friends, and behave in first-impression scenarios? Some academic armchair sense would suggest so. If it’s not happening already, we should consider the possibility of including and studying these basic interactions before attempting to create revolutionary new paradigms around the age old process of meeting people.
Of these several contenders how many will win out, get acquired, or fail?