IPO Killed the Social Media Star

Its been few months and more than that since the two social media
giants declared their initial public offerings. While there have been
more successes for twitter than facebook (which floundered at the
start and then seemed to stabilize) there is a more to come-albeit on the
negative side.
The figures that can be generated by advertizing revenue are not likely
to change, but users base will be affected. People who
signed up for the social experience will decrease.
There were similar negative responses to the reported purchase of Tumblr by
Yahoo and while these seem to pass with time key personalities on the social scene will be lost.

It has not helped that revelations by Mr. Snowden have revealed the hand of certain governments in
illegal surveillance activities. In addition to this, growth of this kind tends to force large corporations and their owners to dine with enemy. 

While google seems to have played is safe, by starting with search and then
launching out into other business and revenue generating ventures,
they can be forgiven for arriving late on the social scene while attempting to
keep the loyalty of their supporters with a simple 'don't be evil' motto.  

The point with facebook and twitter and later on tumblr is that people often sign
on to platforms with a social bent precisely because they are free.
The numbers unfortunately often force the founders of these
businesses to sell them (and there is really no harm in that).

The loss takes place subliminally in the hearts of those who are pushing and fighting
for open information. For rights advocates.

The complex process of turning a foreign brand into your own notwithstanding,
the bigger hurdle remains convincing supporters that they can still benefit.

This is the same struggle that Microsoft is likely to go through after the purchase of
Skype. How do you combine a free service with a not so free company whose sole
responsibility is to satisfy the shareholders?