Is it worth competing with sites like Twitter and Facebook?

[Emma]

Years ago, I had an idea for a social platform that focused on inspiration, kind acts, and things of that nature. A place where people can come together and share ideas and inspire each other to be better people. With the current climate of social media though, I am not sure it is worth looking into getting a project like this started. It would basically be like a mix of all platforms but with a focus on being better people. It seems like people these days are focused more on being in hive minds and fighting each other. I see different networks popping up all the time now but very few of them get anywhere or have all sorts of issues/bugs. That or they just get labeled a "white supremacist platform" or a hate/troll/bigot site because anything outside of the Facebook/Twitter bubble is not good. 🙄

[James]

If you have a good defined target audience you may be able to make it work. You will not be able to come into the market though and compete with the big boys because there will be no where near enough marketing money. 

So if you were able to niche all the way down to a certain type of person and you know where those people hang out you will be able to build something. 

It costs a lot to run a general platform and make it known. 

Anything can work and we just never know until we try. Build a plan and be realistic about the expectations and consistently execute on the plan and see what happens. 

[Rachel]

You also need to consider the userbase of your social site. If you had anywhere near the amount of users twitter and facebook have, you'll be spending tons of money just to keep up your servers. More people, means it's going to cost you even more money. Like James said, there's really no way to compete with them. But, finding a niche that you can popularize through your site, could work. 

[Sophia]

It is hard to start up a social media platform. You would be better off starting a forum that has a social media-like interface. I can give you some examples if you want to see what I mean. You will never be able to directly compete with Twitter of Facebook (or any of the other big sites) unless you offer something they can't do (like TikTok did) or you have millions and millions to invest. 

[Mila]

I would say no. I don't think anyone, unless they have a buttload of money, can't compete with them. Maybe if Elon Musk decided to start his own platform, that would stand a fighting chance but it would cost so much at this point, it would end up being a bad investment. 

[bomb]

Not at all. You will end up being frustrated. Yes, you can learn from them how they do things, but not to try to beat them or to be in their same level. They have come a long way to reach that level, so you need to start small. In fact, you should use them to build your own brand. Until when you have establish yourself, that is when you can consider scaling up to their level. But either way, you should approach this in baby steps.