Thriving Communities, Just Beneath the Surface

Over the last two decades, several new social media platforms have been popping up all over, with some only being popular for a few years and others standing the test of time. Everyone is familiar with sites like Facebook (currently the number one social media platform globally), Instagram, YouTube, and even TikTok, while Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat are still very popular among certain users. Even sites that no longer have a huge number of users, such as MySpace and Tumblr, may sound familiar to most people, but here’s a list of social platforms that may not sound so familiar.

Ask.fm

Ask.fm is a Q&A (question and answer) platform where users create a profile and other users ask them questions, with the option of remaining anonymous. This social platform is reminiscent of Formspring, which was also a Q&A-type platform until it was shut down in 2013. Although Ask.fm has over 200 million users, it’s still not a well-known platform because all it really allows its users to do is ask each other questions. Other platforms, such as Instagram, allow users to do the same thing, along with other things. There are also concerns about cyberbullying due to the fact that users can leave anonymous questions/comments on another user’s page.

Bebo

Bebo was a popular social media site from the early 2000s that allowed users to create profiles, add friends, and post pictures and comments. The original site completely shut down in 2013, and as of 2021, has been rebranded into a new, invite-only platform. According to the website, their goal is to focus on the positive aspects of social media by building a supportive community of people. There is no tolerance for hate speech and vows to delete members of the platform who violate any of these terms. There may be plans to expand membership in the future, but for now, you can only create an account if you’ve been invited to.

Hi5

Hi5 is a social media platform that is similar to a dating app, like Tinder or Hinge. Users on this platform create profiles and share photos of themselves, their interests, age, hometown, etc., in the hopes of finding a partner and making new friends— even though it’s not an actual dating site. In short, it can be described as the opposite of Facebook— creating a profile to meet new people as opposed to creating a profile to connect with people you already know. Hi5 has been around longer than Facebook, but it just hasn’t reached the same level of popularity.

Kik

Kik is a social messaging platform where its users can send text messages, photos, and videos to each other. Users also have the ability to create group chats, public or private. In a nutshell, this platform is pretty similar to Facebook Messenger, which could be a reason why not too many people use this platform. There’s not much more you can do on this platform other than sending messages, even though it only requires an email address to sign-up.

Usenet

Usenet is a network of servers that allows people all over the world to communicate and share information, ideas, and content with each other. Originally created back in 1979 for academic purposes, Usenet now features over 100,000 forums (newsgroups) on every topic imaginable. In these newsgroups you’ll find user-generated content that includes text posts, pictures, videos, and audio files that you can also securely download to your computer, and you can also create and share your own content with others.

Unlike the other platforms mentioned above, Usenet isn’t a website or mobile app, being a network in its own right, completely disconnected from the world wide web. You can access Usenet by trying a free trial from a service provider before committing to a monthly subscription.

All of these sites are currently still available today, so check them out if you can. Sometimes it can be draining to check the top social media platforms constantly, and these can offer a ”change of scenery.”