Most Used Social Media Platforms

            Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Snapchat are all major social media platforms that many people use on a daily basis. So what sets these social media giants apart from others? Why are these platforms the ones we hear the most about and the ones that we use the most?

              Let’s start with Facebook. Facebook has 1.79 billion users that is approximately 440 million more people then populate the world’s most populated country of China. It is the King of all social media platforms by a long shot with the app WhatsApp being the next closest platform coming in at a measly 1 billion monthly users, a slight 800 million user short monthly.  The question has been asked time and time again “Is Facebook too big to fail?” There are arguments on both sides and many articles point out the demise of social media pioneer MySpace and its demise, but Facebook and most other large platforms are doing things differently.

              Facebook, Snapchat and Twitter all made at least 2 major acquisitions in the year 2016. Breathing new ideas and content into their platforms, according to Bufferapp.com, Facebook acquired MSQRD, a facial recognition filter app, in an attempt to compete with Snapchat for the younger demographic. Another thing these platforms are doing is launching new experiences on their sites/apps to keep users engages. In 2016 Facebook launched, Marketplace, Facebook Live, Reactions, and Instant Articles. Snapchat launched Memories and even a physical product in Snapchat Spectacles.

              Along with acquisitions and launches these platforms are relying on the need people have to connect a need that is not going to go away. They are creating spaces for people to connect and share via virtual communities so all they need to worry about is whether people will start wanting that connection somewhere other than computer-mediated technology. Will they? Only time will tell.