Are we amidst a social media war?

It seems that Facebook has declared war on its rival competitors Twitter and Google + this week. Not only has it launched a ‘smart lists’ feature, making it easier for people to group their connections together in true Google+ ‘circles’ style, but it has also revealed a ‘subscribe’ button, so that users can follow and be followed by other users. Hmm, sound familiar? These latest features are a blatant attack on the opposition in the social media camp – but is this fighting all really necessary?

The rise of popularity regarding social media is undeniable; not only is it a big part of our personal lives, but increasingly it’s becoming an important business tool and marketing channel. This is all well and good, but if the likes of Facebook are going to continue launching these strikes to take out the competition, what are we going to be left with? Endless new features and what I would guess - a big pile of confusion. I find it difficult enough to keep up with all these constant updates and new features. I’ve never ‘checked-in’ anywhere or ‘ousted’ anyone as a mayor of x, y and z, but I know that plenty do.

The point is, can’t we just pick and choose which features or social media networks we want to use, when and be done with it rather than be forced to use just one? Many will like their social network accounts separated – one for work, one for pleasure – but with each site fighting and stealing each other’s features, these lines are at risk of being blurred. I can’t see the likes of Stephen Fry using Facebook in the same way as Twitter, but only time will tell if this move has been a triumph or if it will blow up in their face.