#61-Next Trillion-Dollar Social Disruption: A Trustworthy Private Super App bundle of Search Engine, Messenger, and a Social Network

Sidhartha Sharma- Author and Digital Exper- Views are personal

Let’s start with what is good

I am an avid user of social platforms- messengers and search engines. They provide a lot of value and utility to their consumers.

1. Families and friends stay connected
2. The world is much more democratic- everyone has the ability to broadcast.
3. Knowledge and education is available for free to everyone
4. Boredom is dead. Entertainment is free
5. Real issues can be shared- climate change, diversity, and policy-shifts

Do the platforms with billions of users actually face any threat?

Data-privacy is one of the real threats, apart from fake news and the polarization of the masses through paid or wrong content.

Yes, you read it right and this might sound crazy especially in 2021 when the world already has billions of people using social networks and a common search engine. Even after using the platforms for years, the human brain has not yet evolved to manage the avalanche of information that these platforms bring.

I still feel that the good outweigh the evils, but few business leaders have the power and resources to disrupt these platforms, and they may take a shot at it by designing the hardware and ecosystem guidelines.

Thus the current social network and chat platforms need to self-disrupt themselves.

Is there a possibility that they (the big platforms) may get disrupted?

I am not referring to competition-led disruption where the core product is essentially the same, but the consumer moves to a new product because it has more features. While this is a real threat too, but what I am referring to disruption that is based on ‘ Social’ and ‘Human-Ethics’.

I am not saying it will happen immediately, but the voice around data-privacy is gathering a lot of attention. Consumers are looking for digital platforms, networks, and products that they can trust.

Sooner or later, companies that sell consumer data will either have to share the value with the consumer, or they will need to give the controls/ownership back to the consumer.

The data coming from e-commerce apps if harvested for personalization is still permissible, but data from browsing activity, off-app activity, private chats, social networks, and location of the consumer will be a big NO.

There will be a line that social platforms will not be able to cross.

Powerful CEOs and business leaders have started to talk about it. With enough money and power, any industry can be disrupted.

However, notice, I did not talk about entertainment-based opportunities like Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube.

Tech disruptors like to grow out of their core business into adjacencies. Some of them do so not just for profit but to ensure that:

1. Competition does not become stronger
2. Tech for good- Data and privacy of consumer can be protected
3. To kill the free models where the consumer becomes the product. Nothing is free in reality

Who is most suitable to orchestrate this bundle of offerings?

I believe this has to be a bundle offer provided by an established cash-rich tech player. They do it because the consumer wants privacy and they want goodwill and legacy of creating private social-platforms.

Ideally, this global level orchestration of a super app- can be done by a hardware company (world’s most profitable/cash rich smartphone company) or the world’s leader in operating systems (Enterprise tech). Even the cloud and the e-commerce companies can do this but there will be a conflict of interest.

But what will be the Monetization Model:

These companies already have a core profitable business and are now keen to disrupt competition.

Imagine even a 1 dollar per month or 10 dollar a year subscription for one app that gives you the best services:

1. Search engine
2. Private Messenger with all the features
3. Social networks where fake news is penalized and there are no promoted posts. Influencers and businesses cannot push a bad product due to

A lot of privacy-advocate users will shift to this paid network provided the price point is right if push comes to shove.

Or Self-disruption is another path, it may require a business model shift

If you notice the number of privacy options available now on your browser, social network, and mobile apps, you will realize that change is already happening. Yet, there is a long way to go.

Product feature upgrades that give the privacy control and ownership back to the consumers, will help earn the trust. Trust is the foundation for the success of these social networks. It is intangible, but it is critical.

Trust is the reason why the consumer will not migrate to the other platforms and networks that will emerge sooner or later on the digital-event horizon.

Best regards,

Sidhartha Sharma

Views are personal

Sidhartha S. - Director, ASEAN- Digital Strategy & Transformation - BIG FOUR | LinkedIn