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Monday’s Marketing Minute: Social Media’s Uncertain Future

Happy Monday, y’all! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week and ready for Halloween! Here’s a few news stories that caught my eye over the last few days:

 

And it appears that the government crackdown on big tech and social media has begun. The DOJ has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google. At the heart of this is the DOJ’s claim that Google takes the profits from its products and ad revenue, and then funnels them back into locking in exclusive agreements to offer its search engine and browser products. I saw one tweet that claimed that 15-20% of Apple’s global profits come from an exclusive agreement with Google to offer its search engine as the default on its devices! Immediately after the election, look for the CEOs of Twitter and Facebook to be hauled back before the Senate, which will mostly be a lot of hot air and pontificating from politicians, but some actual legislative action could eventually arise. As I’ve been saying for over a year now, the day of reckoning for social media is coming, I’d view Google, Twitter and Facebook as a short-term play, not a long-term one.

 

I’ve made no secret of the fact that my time spent on Facebook has decreased dramatically the last couple of years. At one time I was checking in multiple times a day, now I check the site once or twice a week. But while I see very little value on the site now, their Groups are one of the few bright spots. Building on their popularity, Facebook is testing a new concept called Neighborhoods, which would seem to be Groups organized around geographic area. I think this is a great idea and will be very popular. This would be a great way to discuss issues that affect a particular community, such as finding the proper polling location to vote in an election, or how to deal with coming weather issues. A rare smart move for Facebook.

 

And just because we all need a few laughs right now…

Have a great week, y’all! See everyone tomorrow!

About Mack Collier

My name is Mack Collier and I am a digital marketing and content strategist located in Alabama. Since 2006 I've helped companies of all sizes from startups to global brands such as Adobe, Dell and Ingersoll-Rand, create customer-centric programs, content and experiences. A long-time internet geek, I've been online since 1988 and began using social networking sites in 1991 when I joined Prodigy. Today, I help companies understand how new technologies like web3, crypto and artificial intelligence can integrate with existing marketing strategies to lead to exceptional customer experiences.