Updating and expanding on xkcd’s epic “Map of Online Communities,” the guys over at social media marketing site Flowtown have produced the new (and improved?) 2010 Social Networking Map:
(Expanded map here).
It’s interesting to compare and contrast the two versions and consider how the internet has evolved since Randall Munroe first published the original map in May, 2007… even considering the terminology shift from “Online Communities” to the more specific “Social Networking,” I wonder why Fark, Reddit, and 4chan are conspicuously absent (4chan rates its own pirate ship at the very least, if not some kind of unholy Leviathan rising from the deep). Meanwhile, crumbling behemoths like Friendster and MySpace still take up quite a bit of territory, with the obvious caveat that Not All Users Are Active—I can only assume that the map would look very different if these stats actually reflected the number of active accounts.
So, what do you say, Interwebs—did they get it right? Anything missing? Will future maps be entirely covered in horrific, Justin Bieber-shaped double rainbows, and if so, is it too late to mount some sort of armed resistance? So many questions…
Bridget McGovern sometimes uses the Muppets for evil Internet purposes. Don’t say she didn’t warn you.
