Although Facebook and Twitter now largely dominate the social media spectrum internationally, social networks can evolve. Ello is a new platform that integrates the best of Facebook but has a manifesto declaring their stand against advertising and sale of private information to third parties.
While Ello officially launched on the Internet last March, these past months it has been largely forgotten. However, today it is making a strong comeback due to Facebook's name policy change, after the network began closing the accounts of LGBT artists for failing to register with their real names.
According to two researchers at the University of Princeton, prominence of social networks will eventually end (though it does not seem to be the case). They assert that Facebook's growth will stop and begin to decline between 2015 and 2017, losing 80% of its users.
Another aspect to analyze is the economic model of the Internet, which has been designed to generate monopolies. Currently, 12 of the 30 most powerful American companies are monopolies on the Internet: Facebook, Amazon, eBay, PayPal, etc. The State has waived regulation because of the challenge of regulating the Internet, so it is now easier to control an oil spill than a social network.
So it is still up in the air if Ello will replace Facebook. For now, the answer would be a resounding no, because the new network must be able to overcome scaling the massive Facebook user base. The outlook is extremely difficult for this new start-up social network.
Finally, and most importantly seeing it from the perspective of the user, are we ready to say goodbye to Facebook? Leave me your comments below and start the conversation.
Jorge Chavez is Senior Editor at Mijo! Brands of Mexico.
