How money and users changed social networks
If you believe the world statistics of user preferences, then the leader can be determined without question - this is the social network Facebook. Several billion people visit its pages every day, and the average time spent online is 52 minutes per user.
Modern social networks, which include Russian-language VKontakte and Odnoklassniki, are a multifunctional tool for communication, self-realization, entertainment, information search and even earning money. But social services were not always like this.
The birth of the format. The first “swallows” of social services for the Runet were the well-known portals for communication, including Mail and Bigmir. Then a tracing paper from Pavel Durov appeared on Facebook, with its own characteristics and focus on the Russian user.
If you look back ten to fifteen years into the past, the social network will appear as a site with limited functionality - you can only create your own page, look for friends, exchange photos and communicate. Audio, video, applications - all this will appear later.
Commercialization of social services. The first signs of social media monetization were visible at the dawn of the era – users paid for points, spent rubles in exchange for ratings, purchased exclusive features, and spent money playing games like Eshki and Farms.
Expansion of the range. Classic social networks, which include Facebook or VK, did not remain alone at the top of online Olympus for long. At one time they were kept company by Twitter and then Instagram. With the development of Internet technologies, the possibilities of social resources also expanded - instead of text and images, more attention was now paid to video blogging.
The golden age of groups and communities. Private social media pages are the backbone of the community. However, you can also find commercial groups that post relevant information and advertise specific products, services, and websites. This could be a group dedicated to Belarusian cosmetics and digital goods, a local auto repair shop, online Vulkan games, Chinese goods, or even politics. In other words, anything that brings in money is advertised.
The emergence of advertiser exchanges. Monetizing social networks through advertising is an obvious technique, the implementation of which was only a matter of time. At the moment, anyone can buy advertising on social networks in the Russian-speaking segment if their product or services are not prohibited by law.
English version :: Read in English: How money and users changed social networks