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The battle over social media supremacy seems to be ratcheting up by several notches, and in more ways than one.
In the last week, Meta, which is the company founded in part by Mark Zuckerberg and the operator of Facebook, Instagram andWhatsApp, announced the launch of Threads. Threads, according to those in the know, is a text-based app designed as competition for Twitter, the app now owned by Elon Musk.
Musk responded the way he responds to most things, by complaining about it on social media and then threatening a lawsuit. His claim is that Threads was developed, in part, by former Twitter employees who allegedly took proprietary information with them when they either departed or were let go by his company.
This all follows news a few weeks back that the two billionaires were in negotiations for some type of MMA-style fight. I would almost consider paying to see some steel-cage match between these two, except I don't want to encourage them. Neither are known for their fighting prowess, so I'm sure it would be an absolute disaster.
I'm, of course, old enough to remember when "social media" came in the form of trying to secretly pass notes in class. Then came instant messaging over the internet, and texting. Eventually, MySpace came along, and it was the coolest thing around. We could message people, have a "top friends" list, highlight music, put up posts using basic coding, blog. Next came Facebook and Twitter, and the rest has been history.
I appreciate the opportunities provided by social media. It allows us to keep up with the lives of friends and family, especially those we don't have the chance to see on a regular basis because of distance or hectic schedules. It also is a useful tool in my profession as it helps to spread the viewership of our news articles outside of the Ohio Valley, or to possibly even learn about things we might not have known about otherwise.
It can get overwhelming, though, and the constant influx of information isn't good for our mental health. I've developed an anxious habit of periodically checking through various accounts just for something to do, providing more informational input which, often, increases my anxiety. I have multiple accounts on multiple platforms, using Twitter and Facebook, for example, both for work and my personal life. There also are the social media accounts for this newspaper, which we are working to find better ways to update on a regular basis. It's a lot to juggle, especially because society has gotten accustomed to the idea that the news business should be a 24-hour, instant-access type of operation.
Despite that, there are new social media platforms being developed on a regular basis. Some are a little more low-key, or attract a particular niche user, while others barely get out of the development stage before it becomes obvious they lack traction and go nowhere.
Competition, though, can have its benefits, as, theoretically anyway, it encourages both established and newer groups to be their best in order to stay relevant and get more users to sign up for their service. They may be more prone to listen to their users to make it a more enjoyable experience. They may add new features to lure people away from other offerings. If only it wasn't still the same two or three companies offering all of these platforms.
I've not checked out Threads, or Mastodan, or Blue Skyor any of the other burgeoning alternatives sprouting up through the digital jungle over the last year or so.
For one, I want to see how they do through a prolonged operation, and not just during the initial "honeymoon" period. The shiny new toy might lose its luster after the general public begins to actually use these platforms. There's also the real issue of whether I want to throw another ball in the air and have another platform in the mix to deal with.
It's going to be interesting to watch in the meantime, though. Will more social media help to bring out the best in each of the platforms, and possibly even us as a people, or will they further erode our mental health and societal norms?
(Howell, a resident of Colliers, is managing editor of The Weirton Daily Times, and can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com or followed on Twitter @CHowellWDT)