Web 2.0 is dead?

Two years ago I would have given you a very cogent and strategic view on why Discord and Twitch were important. It would have largely been centered around 'Gen Z', young people looking to break away from the platforms of their parents like Facebook and Twitter, finding spaces more authentic and ownable.

I was still tethered to those legacy platforms by network effects – almost everyone I knew/communicated with regularly were there – even though I found them largely tiresome and infuriating.

They did not bring me joy.

Now, in the dog days of 2022, I've realized that even though no more than a few of my friends have left Facebook and devalued the network, I'm no longer compelled to go there. The online 'communities' I interact with most are groups of friends on messaging platforms, and – despite the dreadful UX – I'm now an active user of Discord for the broader communities I participate in.

On top of that – and whisper it – I now regularly watch streams on twitch. The 'eSports are big and getting bigger' strategy pitch from a few years ago now has the addendum that 'even this 42 year old watches FIFA on twitch'. I've actually watched more virtual football in the last three weeks than actual football, despite there being a World Cup on. It helps that virtual stadiums weren't built by slaves, I guess.

I can't help but feel there's more than just personal anecdotes to this. Network effects won't keep platforms run by an out of touch egomaniacs alive forever. Web 2.0 opened doors to giant online auditoria, but now we want to move into smaller, quieter, more private spaces online – even us old folks.