The rise of mobile is an innovation in itself
Posted: Tue May 27, 2025 4:59 am
In the past, the introduction and adoption of an innovation was much slower than it is today. Consumers are changing their media behavior continuously and at an ever-increasing rate. This causes companies to come (but also go) at a rapid pace. This also means that companies have to move faster to continue to meet consumer expectations.
New media: Friendster & Hyves
If we look at the developments around social media, we see that the first large groups of users list to data were active on the platform Friendster , and in the Netherlands these were the first users of Hyves. Social networks will continue to exist, if they continue to meet the expectations of the user. The social network Friendster was launched in 2002, before MySpace (2003), Facebook (2004) and Hyves (2004) and was the first social network with more than 1 million users.
Friendster had one big problem: the social connections were too weak. The social ecosystem was wrong. An average user only had two friends. As soon as one friend leaves the network, you leave the other friend with only one other friend. The network is therefore too fragile to continue to exist.
Friendster
In addition to the rise of social networks, the arrival of mobile is an innovation in itself. The smartphone (iPhone) was introduced less than six years ago and the tablet (iPad) has been around for just three years now. Innovations follow each other in rapid succession. This initially requires something from the user, namely the adoption of the device. But once this has been set in motion, the introduction of the innovation also requires something from many more parties. Parties that were initially not at all ready for this shift in the new ecosystem (also called a paradigm shift).
New media: Friendster & Hyves
If we look at the developments around social media, we see that the first large groups of users list to data were active on the platform Friendster , and in the Netherlands these were the first users of Hyves. Social networks will continue to exist, if they continue to meet the expectations of the user. The social network Friendster was launched in 2002, before MySpace (2003), Facebook (2004) and Hyves (2004) and was the first social network with more than 1 million users.
Friendster had one big problem: the social connections were too weak. The social ecosystem was wrong. An average user only had two friends. As soon as one friend leaves the network, you leave the other friend with only one other friend. The network is therefore too fragile to continue to exist.
Friendster
In addition to the rise of social networks, the arrival of mobile is an innovation in itself. The smartphone (iPhone) was introduced less than six years ago and the tablet (iPad) has been around for just three years now. Innovations follow each other in rapid succession. This initially requires something from the user, namely the adoption of the device. But once this has been set in motion, the introduction of the innovation also requires something from many more parties. Parties that were initially not at all ready for this shift in the new ecosystem (also called a paradigm shift).