5 Social Media Platforms You Should Watch Out for in 2021

A big part of our reality keeps transferring to social media. In 2021 there were 3.78 billion social media users, and this number is expected to grow 3.9% by 2025. Among other reasons, this sharp rise in the number of social media users lays in the fact that people are attracted by the fast access to quality information.

Social media is not only a tool we can't survive without. It’s a self-standing industry transforming the way humans work, get knowledge, share their experience and cooperate. Social media promises to stay for long — especially with its latest audio and virtual reality-based trends — to continue satisfying the most essential of human needs: real-like social communication.

These five new social media platforms are ones you should keep an eye on, as they seek to facilitate connection in their own ways.

Related: 11 Ways Social Media Will Evolve in the Future

Clubhouse 

Clubhouse is a social network that went viral following Elon Musk's interview on the platform. In 2021, it reached 2.2 million downloads with its minimalist concept of room talks. 

The platform gathers people of the same field under separate conversation topics. By following any of the available topics, users get notified of the rooms where audio conversations occur. There are profile pics, usernames and the speakers' live audio materials.

Despite a remarkable jump in popularity at the beginning of the year, Clubhouse has surrendered its position. However, according to the Sensor Tower spokesperson’s comment, the retention among its users remains significant. 

Clubhouse is an invite-only app. New users can join either by the existing user’s invitation or by entering the waitlist. Though initially launched only for iOS users, Clubhouse recently became accessible for Android users.

Related: Is Audio the Future of Social Media? Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Thinks so.

EduDo

EduDo is a self-development media platform designed for those ready to be better and skillful in any sphere, from food hacks to space technologies.

The app links those who are willing to share their knowledge with people who want to grasp it. People can share their insights on topics that include money and business tips, math and physics, art and culture to tech, food and others. This tool helps integrate self-development into your life.

MeWe

MeWe announces itself as a platform that addresses a big issue concerning social media: users' data privacy.

MeWe gives the opportunities to chat, share audio, photo, and video materials and construct a feed of the spheres that interest you most. MeWe claims that the app's algorithms do not use your data to manipulate the feed anyway. Users see only what they choose to follow, without the ads or suggestions part, as the platform doesn't sell its registered users' data to third parties for the targeting activities.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a reinvented live streaming platform, which groups the entertainers, gamers and athletes in one place. 

The platform was created by former Apple designers in 2018 and reached wider popularity throughout 2020. Caffeine allows users to share live streams with friends and followers, and can also broadcast video games directly from the computer or TV screen. Since the videos are broadcasting in real time, all interactions are natural, as if the participants are in the same room.

Broadcasts are displayed in the feed, and users can interact with them using emojis or comments. Caffeine has already attracted many celebrities by offering them the ability to stream content directly to their audience.

Dispo

Unlike other photo sharing apps, in Dispo the pictures are only published the next morning and cannot be edited or viewed. An automatic filter is applied to the image, like in disposable cameras. As a result, you can have more authentic and natural photos. To get into Dispo, you need to have an invitation from its user. After the registration, everyone is given 20 invites.

A couple of decades ago, it might have sounded a bit strange to join someone’s live or recorded training to improve a qualification or learn some new practical skills. Nowadays, those who lack a basic awareness of online learning tools can fall out of life. Make sure to catch the wave of rising social media platforms, before the wave comes.

Related: The Future of Social Media Platforms and ways in which businesses can utilize them