Selfish Sharing

Social networking is big – everyone knows this. In fact, if Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s third largest, even though it is still not accessible in China. As it stands today, Facebook receives more weekly traffic than Google in the U.S. The hunger for information was previously considered the driving force behind the growth of online traffic, and maybe also the need for us to converse with others, but it seems that social media have tapped into a far stronger need – that of sharing.
The success of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google + to name but a few are arguably all based on this human need. Each of these platforms has simply identified a different type of sharing as its differential.

Facebook is the broadest, where sharing has a mostly social context.
Having a largely commercial skew, Twitter is more of a micro-blogging platform where thoughts and opinions are shared on a constant basis.
On Pinterest, we share beautiful and inspirational imagery, from design and photography to architecture.
Google + focuses more on providing a platform on which to share the Internet with our relevant circles.

Sharing in this context may not be as selfless as it has been made to sound. In sharing, we have the opportunity to fulfil our Western cultural need to proclaim our identity and individuality. Post after post, we build a brand image for ourselves, and find this process entertaining, but mostly validating. It is more than our need to record our every experience, from expressing your sorrow over the death of a celebrity that you badmouthed just weeks ago, to documenting what you had for lunch on Tuesday.
Social networking is selfish sharing.