Me and two friends had to use Google+ yesterday, as we wanted to have a conversation with 3-way video without having to pay for it (Skype). The website is awesome, and the re-design is brilliant. I even tried the mobile app, which looks and works far better than the one FB currently offers. My photo’s are automatically backed up on G+, but I still don’t see myself using the website in the near future – as it is a ghost town.
The problem is that every day I use Facebook, the odds of me changing to another social network is reduced – as I save more of my online life on Facebook. It annoys me that I’m not able to transfer all my pictures, messages and friends over to another social network if I prefer their functionality or design. I believe this will change in the future.
The same way the postal system started as a private initiative, social media has started as a private initiative. But today, every citizen (at least in Norway) are bound to have a mail address. You can still choose private carriers for mail transportation, but there is also a public alternative.
I don’t think there’ll be many years before everybody is bound to have an e-mail/SM-account where the authorities can contact you. I would like to have a “SM-platform” where I don’t rely on privately owned companies. A free platform paid for through taxes, where I can save my contact, messages and pictures. This way, I won’t loose my online memories if for instance Facebook goes bankrupt in 15 years.
I still believe Facebook, Google+ and other new competitors should exist, but I don’t want to completely rely on them. I want to be able to upload my “SM-platform” to the websites I wish to use, and just as easily remove the platform if I wish to change website.
It’s not fully thought through at the moment, and if you have any thoughts on the subject, please tweet me – as I would love to hear them.
