2023 Social media trends: new platforms

Matthew Smith ( contributing writer)

Since the inception of the Internet, there have been ways to communicate. First, there was “the email”, then various online chat websites and services caught on, and soon everyone was on MSN and then, shortly after that, Myspace. Myspace was Facebook before Facebook. – and then things started to evolve. Facebook blew up overnight, and its competitors went into high competitive gear; thus, the social media war began….an online battle over the best platform. From simple emails, we are now inundated with options to communicate online. These include Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Discord, Reddit, Quora, Snapchat, Whatsapp and so forth, which allow us to post important information for the world to see – important stuff like photos of us having coffee – or even sometimes just the coffee itself.   The entire definition of sharing has changed; we’re no longer talking about sharing your sweets with others … we are sharing our lives with strangers (mostly). Besides personal information we can never truly take back, we can also share ideas, career information and who we truly are – without social obligations (just social media ones). The rise of the Internet and social media has not only connected up more than ever before, but it has also opened up various avenues for us – especially regarding finding work or, for the lucky ones, creating work (and selling it online).

So, if you’re into social media, which you most likely are in some form, let us examine the options for 2023.

BeReal – focusing on authenticity, BeReal notifies users simultaneously to take and share a photo within a two-minute window without filters or edits. As the platform’s name suggests, this helps people discover who their online connections are – unlike most social media platforms, which encourage filters to the point of being unrecognizable.

Supernova – Another platform similar to Instagram (much like BeReal); however, Supernova has an added social facet – in your preferences, you can select which charity you wish to support, then via your posts, every like you receive will support your chosen charity. Supernova has pledged to donate 60% of its advertising revenue to the charitable causes selected by its users.

Mastodon – What’s that? You may be asking yourself. Well, Mastodon is like every other social media platform, only better – in my opinion. Whereas most social media platforms allow everything (posts, replies, shares) to be shared within one never-ending social world, Mastodon helps to simplify this by allowing users to select specific servers centred around particular topics or interests. Although you may have chosen a specific server, you can still interact with people on other servers – the whole process is simply more compartmentalized, making it easier to connect with individuals with the same interests.

Substack –Remember when blogs were all the “rage”? Everyone had a blog of some sort – however, most blogging platforms vanished, became too expensive or lost their attraction – so people migrated like a flock of birds to the more streamlined social media options. However, blogs are back!! Truthfully, they never went away – they simply evolved and became intertwined with other Social Media platforms – however, with Substack, you can set up a blog and newsletter without added costs or having to deal with adverts. Simply set up your account, add followers and begin posting.

Lastly, the metaverse. No, I’m not talking about the Facebook, Zuckerberg Metaverse, but rather the metaverse in a general sense. With advancements in virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), various platforms can now offer their own “metaverse” experience. From online virtual worlds to interactive virtual games with detailed environments – we are in an era where we are accepting our physical limitations and focusing more on the potential of our minds.

 

Trends to be aware of

  1. Less Copy & Paste Trends – Content creators need to start creating original content in order to stand out. With most social media being so easy to manage, copying has saturated content and left influencers desperate for a way to stand out against the hoards of identical filters and trends.
  2. UGC Creators Shine –  User Generated Content is extremely vital now – it’s more affordable than hiring an influencer to create/advertise for your brand and it is generally more unique. These users get paid to create specific content for various brands, instead of being the brand themselves and simply “showing off” the product or service.
  3. AI Goes Mainstream – Gone are the days of Artificial Intelligence being a concept or a “scary” imagination of the future. We interact with AI daily – from all centres to help assistants on websites, AI has become integrated into every part of life, and if it hasn’t yet, it soon will be. This isn’t something to be afraid of, Terminator fans; it’s something to embrace.
  4. Keyword Search & SEO Takes Center Stage – SEO isn’t as recent as most would assume; however, it hasn’t been a mainstream topic until now. Search Engine Optimization has moved from being a niche that the best organizations employ to being a staple for all websites, social media and anything online– especially if you work online or sell products.
  5. Storytelling – As technology and AI become more and more prevalent, more companies and organizations are turning to creativity to stand out. Content is king, they say, and it truly is. People don’t want bulleted, straight-to-the-point content anymore, but they also don’t want content that drags on or wastes their time. The world we live in, both online and offline, is extremely fast-paced – time is valuable, so ,therefore, your content has to be on par with what the users want, when they want and how they want – you have to engage interest and keep it.