You may or may not have noticed, but the social channel is changing. Ever since the launch of Facebook in 2004, things have really started to turn. It's hard to believe that Facebook is almost 10 years old - that's almost a decade of the social realm as we know it. But, now I feel things are changing faster than ever - and they are heading towards mobile mash-ups.
Everyone is on their phones now. Mobile is quickly heading to the fastest growing aspect in the digital ecosystem. Mobile now accounts for 12 percent of Americans’ media consumption time, which is three times as much as in 2009. And although this may be unnerving, by the end of 2013, there will be more mobile devices on Earth than people! YIKES!
With this balloon in mobile usage, I'm discovering that there has been a shift in social usage too. On average, 35% of smartphone owners are using their phones to access social media outlets. Especially with the influx of apps, there are more social networks available than ever! Many social apps are integrating into each other, and content suitable for one channel is seeping into other channels, creating an interesting hybrid of language and tactics.
For example, the extremely popular app, Instagram, has the capability for users to share their photos on Facebook and Twitter. Many times, users of Instagram incorporate hashtags into their photo captions, because users are well aware that that tactic allows other Instagram users to search their feeds and recent photo posts for categories. This same concept also carries through to Twitter, but these hashtags make no difference on social media giant, Facebook. Yet, they are still there - and many people are 'liking' the change!
Another interesting change I am noticing is that more and more social media users are making use of mobile apps for video recording and sharing. Although YouTube may be well known as the largest video sharing channel, it's quickly getting overrun by niche video apps such as Vine and Keek. As soon as YouTube incorporated Analytics into their videos, many 'YouTubers' noticed an ever-growing trend in mobile viewers. So the 'YouTubers' had to migrate to appeal to their largest audience - the mobile users! New features on these video sharing apps such as the ability to search trending hashtags and videos as well as the ability to embed these videos on the web, likely helped slide these ever-popular video apps into the 'number one' spots.
Social media will always be evolving, but it is interesting especially in this moment right now. I know we are on the brink of a big change in the social realm. What it may bring and how it may affect our society, I cannot predict. If I had to read into the crystal ball, though, I would definitely lean towards shorter snippets of content, faster downloads, and more and more mobile content creation. I also feel that mobile mash-ups of language and tactics will continue to be much more prevalent, and these mash-ups may force social giants to change. The social user continues to evolve; therefore, so must the channel.
What social trends are you noticing the most? Are you a fan of mobile-created content? Are you finding mobile mash-ups of social tactics to be intriguing or annoying?
