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Ask HN: What comes after social networks?

16 points by nickelcitymario ↗ HN
Specifically, all the current social networks are starting to feel long in the tooth. Facebook (+Instagram, +WhatsApp), Twitter, LinkedIn... these have been around for a relatively long time, they're approaching (or have passed) the top of their growth bell curves... one might generously call them mature.

What's next?

16 comments

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elliekelly
I hope I’m wrong but my guess is payment/lending networks.
nickelcitymario
Oy, that seems about right, but that's a very enticing future.
verdverm
Snap, back to reality, I hope.

I think there will be a new generation of fluid social networks in competition over business models and interfaces.

nickelcitymario
What do you mean by "fluid social networks"?
verdverm
Ease of switching, like if ActivityPub takes off, you have a backend SN you join, but can switch at any time, because the data is all the same format. Networks can consume each other's content. Interface is decoupled from the network.
sebst
I don't see that happen as long as the non technical people don't care.
pieterhg
Private group chats. Already happening now.
sammyo
Shared Virtual Reality...with haptic interface, nudge nudge, wink wink.
sebst
Social networks are THE feature of the web and will always be. It started with usenet, geocities etc., followed by MySpace, now twitter and Facebook. A trend in this (e.g. Switch to private chat groups) would still qualify these applications as social networks.

In what directions social software will evolve is another question. What will be the next big revenue generating business model is yet another one.

nickelcitymario
That's an interesting way of looking at it.

Got an opinion on what the next great leap in social networking might be? Is it private chat groups, as others have mentioned too?

I'm asking because for the first time in a long time, I don't have any sense of where we're heading, of what shows great promise.

Feels more like we're seeing small refinements rather than truly big ideas for the future.

Is it just me?

sebst
I guess temporary shares (like in Instagram stories or Snapchat) could be a good trade-off between the desire of 15 minutes of fame and privacy. Future social networks will probably put an emphasis on this.
rl3
My belief is that every company listed there, plus quite a few more, can be wholesale replaced by a single generalized platform that distills and incorporates patterns from each. Probably something more in the idealized spirit of what the internet was originally intended to be.

Of course, when you boil raw sewage the end result isn't usually potable water.

Nevermind that overcoming the network effects of existing platforms is also nothing short of a herculean feat. Definitely possible, though.

ai_ia
Virtual life (Not necessarily VR) game like Second life where people connect, learn and do things which they don't normally do.

Looking at Pokemon Go success, I am pretty sure a mobile based Virtual Life simulation game with chat feature can go mainstream.

fiftyacorn
I expect some kind of social currency system like China or Black Mirror. Wouldnt surprise me if they already exist in the west