MySpace and YouTube Competitors
Stickam
New, free and anonymous, Stickam is the latest social website to enter the ring. But it’s a social website with a difference, as it offers live and uncut videos and chat, ringing alarm bells of parents across the globe. Whilst you have to be at least 14 and it claims to bar inappropirate and obscene behaviour - it’s not going to be easy to enforce. It’s still early days, so it remains to be seen whether Stickam will achieve its goal of being bigger than Myspace or YouTube. But with a membership of 400,000, it’s a long way behind given MySpace added over 61 million new users in January alone. But given MySpace has blocked users making any links to Stickam, it seems they recognise the threat. But MySpace used a similar tactic to block YouTube to pave the way for MySpace video - but as YouTube became too popular they were forced to change tack. Perhaps they now have a webcam product in the pipeline?
Trend Themes
1. Live Video Streaming - The rise of Stickam, a social website offering live and uncut videos and chat, signals a trend towards live video streaming platforms.
2. Anonymity in Social Media - Stickam's anonymous user experience highlights the emerging trend of social media platforms offering anonymity to its users.
3. Enforcement of Online Behavior - The challenges faced by Stickam in enforcing appropriate behavior on its platform sheds light on the growing trend of focusing on comprehensive measures for regulating online behavior.
Industry Implications
1. Social Networking - Stickam's emergence as a competitor to MySpace and YouTube indicates potential disruption in the social networking industry.
2. Video Streaming - The success of Stickam suggests opportunities for disruptive innovation in the video streaming industry.
3. Online Safety and Moderation - The need for effective moderation strategies on platforms like Stickam points towards potential disruptive innovations in the field of online safety and moderation solutions.