And the next Twitter is…
The summer box office is a fitting analogy for the tiny window of time social media platforms have to show off when they’re at the top. With a new blockbuster dotting theater marquees each week – first “Wolverine,” then “Star Trek” and “Angels & Demons” – they only have one safe weekend to capture box office booty before being jettisoned to your NetFlix queue for the next big picture.
Social media are experiencing the same trend. MySpace has withered, Facebook has peaked and Twitter appears poised to one day overtake it – Tweeting already carries more pop culture clout than Facebook’s collection of bells and whistles thanks to Ashton Kutcher & Co.
Here are three cutting-edge websites that are on our radar and worth watching:
3. Jaiku
Alexa traffic rank: 24,852
OK, get this: Micro-blogging site Jaiku was purchased by Google earlier this year and is maintained by a volunteer army four-eyed coders and engineers. Instead of Tweets, here you send joiks, a name that actually has historical roots in Finnish story-telling. Huh. The Twitter braintrust needs to worry about the day that Google wakes up and says, “Let’s throw a billion dollars at Jaiku just for fun.”
2. Hi5
Alexa traffic rank: 25
Currently the third most popular social networking platform, Hi5 aims to differentiate itself among the competition with a virtual currency, an international flare and an intuitive messaging service. Call it the Obama of social networking.
1. LinkedIn
Alexa traffic rank: 99
Yes, you already know about it. And yes, the business networking application is a bit restrictive. But if the recession continues or worsens, users will continue to find high-tech shortcuts to choice gigs by hob-knobbing sans suits or Kinkos runs.
