There's a small truth the social media game and that is, it's pretty recognizable. There are Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter all running around in a battering frenzy trying to clean up the messes they make on the news, while simultaneously trying to bash each other in.
As such, there need to be losers, winners and sellouts. Whatsapp and Instagram? The sellouts to Facebook. Facebook? The old titan on a sinking ship. Snapchat is the near penny stock loss and Twitter? Well — that's where the fights happen.
Or at least the ones big enough to make it onto Mashable.
Here's the thing about the social media game. It's supposed to be a grand connection tool that changes lives day by day — and truthfully, it does that. There wasn't another time in which I could connect with a likeminded individual from India or be able to learn about the beauty of psychology online for free via YouTube.
It's insane to see what social media has given us — but at the same time (and partially due to the holistic battle they are fighting), social media is turning into a bit of an old flour clump.
Think about it — Instagram is the platform that has everything.
You share your life to the world around you in an easy, accessible way, through DM's, stories and posts. There isn't much of another competing platform to combat that with. On the flip side, there's Twitter where you tell everyone your thoughts.
Then, there's Facebook, where you do practically everything from games to texting, to posting and... you know the drill. Which only leaves specific room for Snapchat for interpersonal connections. Adding friends, private stories and disappearing actions are the core of the company's model.
But we forgot something.
Social media is for connectivity — not for interpersonal banter. That's where texting applications come in. Which puts Snapchat as an Instagram-copied odd one out from social media, and it tells us something quite important about it. There are rules to be played.