Surviving the cut-throat competition

When Facebook started, the idea of sharing personal photos publicly sounded a bit strange, but people adapted to it, sharing more and more of their personal moments online.

Then came Twitter and it felt more personal, people opened up and started expressing themselves in 140 characters. That continued until Snapchat began to steal the spotlight.
Apparently, this intimacy and open interactions is the line differentiating various social media platforms from each other. Twitter took over Facebook by surprise for a while, and now both are looking at Snapchat with worry, and a bit of jealousy.
This users’ behavior is not unique to a country or a region; it is a worldwide phenomenon. Just look at how things are happening in the Kingdom.
Different social media platforms have allowed us to see different celebrities in a new light. It also opened the door to countless number of unknown personalities to become media stars and influencers.
However, the race to keep users happy and hooked to the platform will never end. That is why reports are doing the rounds that Facebook is actually experimenting with Snapchat-like features.
“New screenshots of what look to be one of the social network’s many experiments show the company is working on a new feature that allows groups of friends to privately share photos and other updates that disappear after 24 hours,” reported Mashable.
How this idea will play out is still unclear. What is known till now is that the feature needs the user to create groups in order for the feature, called “quick updates,” to work. Texts, photos, or videos can be shared in that group for everyone to see, except that they will disappear in 24 hours, just like Snapchat.
“Our best guess, is that the company (Facebook) is trying, yet again, to capture some Snapchat-like appeal,” reported Mashable.
“It is well documented that Facebook has tried and tried to emulate Snapchat’s success with various apps and services geared toward disappearing messages though none have been nearly as successful.”
I am not sure imitating features across platforms would lead to any benefits. Different companies have done it and failed, Google with its Google+ is a shiny example. Unless a platform comes up with an original feature, there is a rare chance a user would decide to switch platforms.