Stop being copycats!

I realize social media companies need to compete with each other, but why must they keep being copycats?

In the summer of 2013, Vine was just gaining popularity. No other big social media platform was based on video-sharing, and people were just starting to get into the idea. Then Instagram added video-sharing capabilities, and suddenly it wasn't so special. People didn't know if they should post their videos to Vine or Instagram (or both), and Vine quickly receded into niche markets.

Similarly, Facebook tried to copy Twitter by adding a hashtag feature in June 2013. Later in January of this year, Facebook added the"trending topics" feature, which pooled data about what people were posting about the most. I remember when I saw the "trending topics" section on my Facebook minifeed, and I honestly resented the blatant similarity to Twitter. I use Twitter for conversations, not Facebook. I don't need the same functions available on every social media platform I use; That kind of defeats the purpose.

The most recent example of social-media-copying was by Vine, which just added private video messaging capabilities. Seems remarkably similar to Snapchat, which I use to send funny (and thankfully, temporary) videos of myself doing silly things to my friends. I already have Snapchat-- Why do I need Vine to do the same thing for me?

Just because another social media platform pops up and gets popular doesn't mean others should compete by copying its functions. That's what I love about social media: There isn't one platform that does it all. I use Instagram for artsy photos, Facebook for my regular photos, and Twitter for my random updates and news-sharing. If these companies keep trying to copy each other, they lose their authenticity and unique roles in our social media lives. Each time I've seen a company try to copy another, especially after Facebook introduced hashtags and trending topics, people just resent the resulting overlap and confusion.

I think Mark Zuckerberg has finally started catching on to people's desire to use many different apps, each for a unique purpose. Facebook bit off more than it could chew by taking on a myriad of social capabilities, and people started abandoning the clutter for separate apps, like Snapchat for direct messaging and Instagram for photo-sharing. Now, Zuckerberg is expressing his desire to move away from a do-it-all platform to catch up with this emerging trend. Facebook released Paper earlier this year for news-sharing and purchased Whats-App for messaging.

People don't need multiple social media platforms that all perform the same functions. If companies want to compete, they need to come up with fresh ideas for us to share in new, innovative ways. Copycatting is not the answer.