Ask HN: Would Amazon ever create a Facebook competitor? Will anyone?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15775317

by rblion • 9 years ago

9 11 9 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I can't help but still wonder if Facebook's place is set in stone or if it's slowly losing relevance as more and more people become wary of social media and tech companies in general.

sidcool• 9 years ago

I don't think social network falls under Amazon's overall strategy. It's going to be more likely Google or a start up.

rblion4• 9 years ago

I don't know, Amazon has disrupted retail from the ground up but is starting to spread. I think they could take a crack at it and get further than Google+ did.

It's all speculation though. We can rule Microsoft out.

chatmasta• 9 years ago

Whatever supplants facebook will not look anything like a social network today. If it were as simple as building a platform and throwing a bunch of users at it, Google+ would have worked.

Facebook won because it mapped the real world's social graph onto a virtual social graph. If a product is to take Facebook's throne, it will need a similar hook. Beyond that, it will likely also need to position itself as the "anti" facebook - no tracking, no data collection, etc.

rblion4• 9 years ago

I saw something posted here a few months ago called 'Scuttlebutt'. What about that? The founder is definitely positioning it as the anti-facebook and himself as the anti-Zuck.

I agree with you there, I think that is why all the other challengers have failed. None could create an equal social graph or off anything good enough to make people want to leave.

By now though, it may be the case that people don't want to join anything new because of losing 'memories' and fear of missing out.

CM30• 9 years ago

Yep. Same goes with whatever supplants any other social media site too. The next Twitter won't be a simple Twitter clone, and the next Reddit won't be a simple Reddit clone.

It'll be what makes the entire point of the original service completely obsolete.

rblion4• 9 years ago

that's the real question though, is it possible to create a better solution that people will adopt?

Is the social space the same as search engine space? Google and Facebook's advertising tentacles are growing stronger every quarter too.

seanwilson• 9 years ago

Beyond that, it will likely also need to position itself as the "anti" facebook - no tracking, no data collection, etc.

Not saying this isn't important but outside of here and other niche communities, regular people show no signs of caring about this.

rblion4• 9 years ago

Noticed that for sure. This is another reason why I think nothing has made people seriously consider leaving.

most people are content with the way things are, not really feeling the need to 'reinvent the wheel'.

nickswan• 9 years ago

Amazon can't get a handle on fake product reviews so I dread to think how they'd manage a social network

cJ0th• 9 years ago

They don't need a social network to gather data. They already know what you're buying. (I take it that Facebook competitor would be someone who could offer a similar service to people who want to sell goods although that's probably not what OP was implying)

mapster• 9 years ago

Maybe it will be in the realm of VR like First Life

Ask HN: Would Amazon ever create a Facebook competitor? Will anyone?

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