Early social media are like telephones, they connect you to anyone and aim to build a horizontal platform that has most communication functions you need (text, audio, video, broadcast, news, games, etc) in order to maximize the MRU monthly recurring usage.

In some countries (China) the social media has also become a platform for payment, commerce, and transactions. This is a further expansion of the earlier theme to make you use the “everything app”.

By the mid-20s, we can very clearly see that social media is here to stay. Platforms may change but the concept of a ubiquitous free media for messaging and publishing is now ingrained into the fabrics of our societies. These are horizontal “universal” platforms that host many smaller communities.

Going forward, social media are likely to become more vertically differentiated. Just like you have different social circles in the school, at work, and at play, people may have multiple social platforms that are differentiated by their user profiles.

We already see work profiles on Linkedin, dating profiles on dating sites, and merchandizer profiles growing on live casting sites. In the future, there may also be sites build for sports, fandom, artists, industries, or political spectrums. People on a training, learning or recovery program also want their own platforms.

While these can also be just subcommunities in a bigger social media platform, the wish for anonymity and segregating one’s circles makes it sometimes advantageous to have different ones. Features and functions may also be customised for each type of user scenario.