Applying the Social Network
The network that I will discuss in this inaugural blog post is the one that is most interesting to all of us, the social network.
I say “social network”, everyone thinks “Facebook.” But as we all learned in our first few weeks on campus, or maybe earlier depending on where you are from, Venmo presents an entirely different perspective on the social network. For those that don’t know, Venmo is the peer-to-peer mobile payment app that, by linking to your Facebook account, allows you to perform and share payments quickly and easily with friends. Choose who you are paying, how much, and tell everyone you know why. The thought behind the Venmo social network is partnering a functional use with the existing social network. Open the Venmo app, and the first thing you see is all your friends. That’s the idea; Community. Facebook built it, and Venmo is using it.
People crave social, they want to do things together. Our generation is willing to overlook minor privacy concerns if it means sharing the experience with friends. This means we will expose more to our social network, especially if you do not make us go out of our way to do it. With Venmo, a mundane, trivial, everyday task is now efficient, shared and entertaining. And it was easy. Paying someone on Venmo is an art form, on display for all your friends. People go to the app to pay, but the Venmo experience is much, much more. This is what makes Venmo.
My question is, what will be next. Where will the social network rear it’s beautiful head next? What will be the next Venmo. It is addictive, and it is growing. Sharing payments doesn’t sound great, but it is great. The social network exists, and we love it, and Venmo is showing an entirely new way to utilize it. Our social network drives our free time so we naturally associate it with positive emotions. Understand this. Capture this. And apply it.
My best guess: Transportation
Thank you Venmo for taking that next step, showing us the value of the social network, daringly applying it in a new space, and not trying to rebuild it. Do we really need to rebuild our social network in every space that we share, or are they just making it more difficult for us, and in turn, themselves?
Source:
http://www.fastcompany.com/3019849/venmos-social-increasingly-hilarious-payments-community