I remember the period when everyone started onboarding to Facebook, it was almost like a collective mania had developed with people rushing to make accounts. I myself resisted initially, before an account was made for me by a friend. The reason early networks like Facebook and Twitter gained near-universal network effects is because, at that time, they were the only game in town. If you wanted to be on social media, which people did, those were your options.

The situation reminds me of the emergence of universalist religions. Why are so many people Christian or Muslim today? The reason is that two millennia ago it was a very tribal world. There weren't any other universalist creeds to enter, so those religions gained mass network effects in a similar manner. I doubt that if they emerged today, even with all the same characteristics, they would grow beyond a fragmented niche in a world that now has much more ideological competition.

We may have a more fragmented future internet culture, which is fine.

Writer, podcaster, and commentator on foreign affairs and politics. Runs /dropglobalnews

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Niche communities are the way forward.  People want deeper connection than the shallow massive communities prevalent on traditional social.  The platforms that make it easiest to create and find such niche communities will prevail.