In contradiction with the open spirit of the internet, there is a few social networks that control the entire social media: Google Plus, Facebook, Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Twitter and LinkedIn. Each website covers a specific social aspect: Pinterest is focused on images, Stumbleupon on websites, Twitter on microblogging and LinkedIn on professional relations. Only Google Plus and Facebook are in direct competition.. It is dramatic, because this lack of competition between the social networks affect the user experience. I could add this to my list of decisive arguments to delete a Facebook account.
Why is the social media controlled by one handful of websites? Simply because popularity brings popularity. The more users are subscribe on a social network, the more user will be interested and invited. This is the snowball effect. Some websites will be advantaged by it, and others won’t, even if they are as great as the most popular social networks. But their popularity can change quickly and unpredictably which is why it can be very difficult to predict the next popular social networks. The awareness of the upcoming social networks can be very important for you business, your job and your popularity. It gives you a step ahead. This is why I decided to share 8 social networks that are not well known, but might make a hit due to their innovation. So don’t forget to apply update from ADB sideload and go on reading.

1. Thumb – Smartphone app

THUMB – THE SOCIAL NETWORK FOR INSTANT OPINIONS

Thumb is a mobile app that facilitates the sharing of personal opinions. The concept is simple, when you must make a difficult choice, Thumb brings you the opinions of your friends and family. If they thumb up, they agree with your choice. In the opposite case, they can suggest you an alternative to your choice. This application can be very interesting for clothes choice or party organisation. Find Thumb on Android and iOs.
There is also a real potential for businesses. Imagine you could get instant opinion on your product design, pricing, concepts… This application was used by Coca-Cola, they asked: would you pay an additional $.25 for Coca-Cola with real sugar? If you are interested, you can subscribe to Thumb Pro.

2. Pheed – Smartphone app

PHEED – THE NEW SOCIAL NETWORK FOR TEENAGERS

Twitter, SoundCloud, Tumblr, Ustream and Instagram are popular and unique social networks, but if you are a bit lazy, you won’t register on all of them. Then Pheed could be interesting, it  is a social-media platform that combines all the advantages of these networks: text, photo, video, audio, voice-notes, live broadcast and microblogging. Even more interesting, there are almost no limits on content size: videos can run up to 4 hours and 20 minutes, and photos can be any resolution and shape.
Pheed has become the top app on Apple’s Chart. Over a million users have migrated towards the growing popular app, making it one of the top social apps in over 30 countries. The audience is mainly composed of teenagers, the user base is 81% between age 14 and 25.
I think that the growth of Pheed won’t stop, because it attracts a lot of celebrities. In fact, Pheed can transform your fans into money. It provides monetization features where users may place a monthly pay-wall on their channel, or host a live pay-per-view broadcast event. Users select their own pricing and can earn directly.
Pheed is available on the AppStore and will come as soon as possible on Android.

3. Path – Smartphone app

ALL-IN-ONE SHARING – PATH

At first glane, Path is quite similar to Facebook or Google Plus. But if you look closer, you will discover a whole new universe and some unique features. First of all, this mobile application is open to other social networks: you can send or import your posts from Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Tumblr which is very convenient to not waste time to republish your posts. The purpose of Path is also different, it is designed to help you forge links with family and close friends. This is why you can not have more than 150 connections, which can be seen as a defect, but it guarantees you to be listen. I just felt in love with its messaging system: fast interface, fun emoticons, it is one of the best mobile app to message your family one-to-one or in small groups. Another interesting feature is the search engine, you can search by people, seasons, holidays, and more.
Launched in November of 2010, Path has grown to include over five million people sharing life with close friends and family. Get the app on the AppStore or on Google Play.

4. Medium – Internet

MEDIUM – EXAMPLE OF COLLECTIONS

Created by Evan Williams and Biz Stone, co-founders of Twitter, Medium is a mix between Pinterest and Tumblr. It is a platform for sharing of content, organized into “collections”. These collections are defined by a theme and a template: according to Evan, the design supports the purpose of content, so Medium is diverse in look and feel, ranging from different types of articles to images. Anyone can contribute to a collection. How prominently your contributions appear in Medium collections is based on how many votes you got.
You probably guessed that this is not a revolutionary concept. However, Medium is ergonomically designed and has a unique universe. I have tried it for 2 weeks and I have to say that Medium is rather addictive.

5. Fancy – Internet + Smartphone app

FANCY – AN ONLINE AND SOCIAL MARKETPLACE

Fancy is an online shop where traditional retailers or individuals sell all sorts of products. But what is the difference between a classic online shop such as Amazon and this website? Fancy is a social store. It is very similar to Pinterest, but Fancy is focused on products.
The user can like products and share them with their friends. The more a product gets positive response, the more visible it becomes on the site. Another interesting feature is the wishlist, it consists of collecting the best products in order to purchase them for a prospective celebration. And if you don’t have any gift idea for a friend’s birthday, then the social gift-services may help you: Fancy recommends you a suitable gift for your friend.
The concept has been successful, Fancy has about 1 million users and earns more than $50,000 in sales per week. But I think that it could go one step further: there is a huge potential for these social marketplaces.
You can also use Fancy on your mobile, find the application on the AppStore, Google Play and the Windows Phone Store.

6. Gogobot – Internet + Smartphone app

GOGOGBOT – A SOCIAL TRIP ADVISOR

Gogobot offers insider reviews and photos for the best hotels, restaurants and places to go. But this is not a Tripadvisor-like, it is much more than that. In fact, Gogobot is a social network. But, why is a trip advisor social? This is a good way to get a trusted source of informations. The recommendations on Gogobot are reliable, because they come from your family and friends. It becomes even more interesting when you discover where your friends went on their holiday and where they eat. This service goes beyond recommendations, it connects you with friends to make planning and sharing your travels.
Gogobot is also available on the AppStore and Google Play.

7. Sonar – Smartphone app

SONAR – FIND YOU FRIENDS.

Sonar is a mobile app that tells you when your friends and friends’ friends are nearby. Sonar combines publicly available profile and location information from Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to help you discover business contacts, colleagues, old friends and new ones at conferences, cafes, bars…
In the last update, Sonar has crammed in Status and instant messaging. Very useful if you don’t want to drink your coffee alone.
Get Sonar for your smartphone: Android and iOs.

8. Highlight – Smartphone app

SCREENSHOTS OF HIGHLIGHT ON IOS – FIND PEOPLE NEARBY

It aims to tell you about the people in your immediate vicinity, approximately a block and a half of you. Why should I meet  these people ? Because they have the same interests as you. Highlight uses information from your Facebook account to determine if other Highlight users in the proximity should meet each other. Highlight also has the same feature as Sonar: it tells you if one of your friends is nearby. In this case, the app will send a push notification once someone journeys near you.
Download highlight on the AppStore or on the Google Play.

As for me (author) I would be really glad to see some kind of social network which is related to movies only – where people will be able to share their thoughts about favorite films and series, where they can talk and share useful tips like Netflix DNS codes and useful sites for movie watching.