Skip to main content

5 social media networks that are still alive and kicking, but we don’t know why

Do you remember tricking out your Myspace profile with purple flaming wallpaper and deciding which of your friends would make your top eight? Or, creating that super-secret circle in Google+? Were you one of those people sending a “yo” to everyone you knew, a few summers ago?

There are loads of social networks out there, with new ones popping up all the time — each attempting to be the next big thing. The problem is that social media trends come and go, and popularity is never guaranteed. But there are a few sites that are hanging around way past their expiration dates. When Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat dominate the social scene, we wonder how these five particular social networks continue to hang on.

Recommended Videos

Google+

google plus hashtags
Image used with permission by copyright holder

When it launched in 2011, people thought Google+ would be a Facebook killer. In this social network, you’d create different circles for all of the various friends in your life. Alas, Google+ never came to be a full-fledged competitor to, well, anything.

While there are billions of Google accounts, the number of active Google+ users is likely far less (everyone who signs up for a Google account also receives a Google+ account). A 2014 report from Stone Temple Consulting placed the number of active users at around 100 million, and the number of users posting frequently over a one-month period was even less, at 3.5 million. Compare that to Facebook, which claims 2 billion active users per month.

Google+ is the latest in a series of tried and failed social media sites for Google. Orkut, Google’s earliest social media site where users could rate you (on a scale of 1-10) based on coolness, sexiness, and trustworthiness, closed up shop in 2014. Google Wave, the short-lived social media site that did just about everything, lasted just a few years before it was replaced with Google+. But Google, so far, is keeping Google+ going. We hope the company either transform the network into something awesome, or, like Orkut and Wave, just put it out of its misery.

Path

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Do you know anyone who still uses Path? Rephrase: Do you know anyone who even uses Path? The site originally launched in 2010, positioning itself as a companion to other social media sites, like Facebook. Path originally limited your social network to 50 friends, with the thinking that you’d share more personal information within a smaller group.  The site eventually raised the friends limit to 150, before removing it entirely.

Because Path wanted people to divulge personal information, users were shocked to learn that the company was accessing and storing phone contacts without permission.  After apologizing for the practice, the site was hit again in 2013 for storing data from underage users. After its privacy snafus, the FTC fined the company $800,000 and required the site to have its privacy practices review bi-annually until 2033. If the latest numbers are accurate, Path has less than 5 million active users.

Gab

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Dubbed “Twitter for Racists,” Gab was launched in 2016 as a social network that eschewed “the entirely left-leaning Big Social monopoly.” Gab, which looks very similar to Twitter, allows users to send updates without having to worry about being suspended for hate speech — and that is troublesome for many obvious reasons.

Featuring controversial personas like Tila Tequila and Milo Yiannopoulos, Gab currently has over 225,000 users, with some opting to pay for premium features that help keep the site ad-free. It’s not a big group, but it’s loyal. Since Apple never allowed Gab to put an app in the iOS store, and Google pulled the Android app from Google Play Store, users have to rely primarily on its web-based sites. In September 2017, Gab’s registrar said it would seize its domain due to threats of violence from a user, according to Business Insider. However, an anonymous registrar took over hosting responsibilities.

Myspace

social media myspace
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Before Facebook, there was Myspace. Once upon a time, it was the biggest social media platform in the world. The site allowed users to create highly customized pages — replete with flashy gifs and background music — where you could muse about all of your personal struggles via the built-in blog.

Launched in 2003 as a competitor to Friendster, Myspace spent nearly a decade as the top social media site in the world. According to Sean Percival, former VP of online marketing for Myspace, the site was actually launched as an ecommerce company to sell “junk”  like diet pills and cheap toys to its users.

The Myspace that exists today is nothing like the original. Once users jumped to Facebook and other social media sites, Myspace went through multiple rebrandings and owners. The site is currently a social media network that focuses on music and culture, although with 15 million monthly visitors, we aren’t sure how influential it is.

Yo

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Originally launched on April Fool’s Day in 2014, Yo seems to be a total joke. It serves just one purpose: it allows you to send a “yo” to other users on the network.

Fascination with the app dwindled quickly after its launch. It didn’t help that it was plagued with serious security issues. After several updates, users can now send location pins, links, and even photos, but almost every social network lets you do that. Since it launched, Yo has been downloaded over 3 million times, with more than 100 million “yos” sent — a far cry from the billions of users of other social networks.

Steven Winkelman
Former Staff Writer, Mobile
Steven writes about technology, social practice, and books. At Digital Trends, he focuses primarily on mobile and wearables…
Topics
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more
Worried about the TikTok ban? This is how it might look on your phone
TikTok splash screen on an Android phone.

The US Supreme Court has decided to uphold a law that would see TikTok banned in the country on January 19. Now, the platform has issued an official statement, confirming that it will indeed shut down unless it gets some emergency relief from the outgoing president.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” said the company soon after the court’s verdict.
So, what does going dark mean?
So, far, there is no official statement on what exactly TikTok means by “going dark.” There is a lot of speculation out there on how exactly the app or website will look once TikTok shutters in the US.

Read more