From my observation it seems like social media startups are the most difficult to run.

Some of the two main problems social media startups are likely to face are CENSORSHIP and MONETIZATION.

Censorship problems affect all social media startups . I've noticed it's quite hard to censor people without getting backlash about how you're taking away people's right to free speech , even when the free speech endorses violence or something harmful. Take Nairaland for example , if a Mod bans people from a particular political party , religion or any group of people who share certain beliefs . Members of such groups would complain about how biased the mods are.

In addition to that monetizing social media platforms without invading people's privacy is just like walking through a mine field .
People are not willing to pay monthly or annual subscription fees to use social media. Let's be honest if Facebook asked users to pay $1 per month to stop Facebook from selling user data, how many people would be willing to pay ?
People don't want to see ads running on social media sites either , they find it annoying. How then do people expect the companies to make money .
People don't want their data getting sold to third party companies but won't pay for the service .
In summary people want social media that's free of ads and free to use

Someone might talk about how setting up non profit social media is the solution but the problem is how many people are willing to donate money to such companies.Would the donated amount be enough to run such companies . It's also the same monetization problems that Wikipedia is facing , Wikipedia was begging for at least a £2 donation from users to keep the site running . Remember this is a site that makes information accessible without charging anything or hosting ads on the site yet people don't donate enough to it.

ARCHEMEDESME:

It's also the same monetization problems that Wikipedia is facing , Wikipedia was begging for at least a £2 donation from users to keep the site running . Remember this is a site that makes information accessible without charging anything or hosting ads on the site yet people don't donate enough to it.

But how can an organisation like Wikipedia that can make billions by just putting a small advert on their site decide they don't want to, and they are now asking people for £2 donation?

ThePlainTruth:


But how can an organisation like Wikipedia that can make billions by just putting a small advert on their site decide they don't want to, and they are now asking people for £2 donation?

Wikipedia is non profit and people hate ads

Monetizing social media is now a walk in the park

What you don't know is that non-profit organizations are usually rich.

Wikipedia for example is a very rich company.

The issue with social media startup is that everyone going into it want to start making money right away.

They don't care about doing things differently or doing it the right way they just want you to click on the ads so thy can cash out.

There is a reason why Nairaland is here to stay even with its ugly design.

Karleb:
What you don't know is that non-profit organizations are usually rich.

Wikipedia for example is a very rich company.

They are sometimes secretly get sponsored by Mossad,CIA,FSB etc

ChingaOne:

They are sometimes secretly sponsored by Mossad,CIA etc

Really?

Aside from the ads donations, other organizations and philanthropist do donate yearly to Wikipedia.

It's only Nigerian that find it hard to donate.
I mean, how much is $2?

Karleb:


Really?

Aside from the ads donations, other organizations and philanthropist do donate yearly to Wikipedia.

It's only Nigerian that find it hard to donate.
I mean, how much is $2?

It's not just Nigerians , people love free stuff

ChingaOne:
Monetizing social media is now a walk in the park

Without getting user backlash ?

.

Monetizing social media is now a walk in the park

ARCHEMEDESME:
Wikipedia is non profit and people hate ads

People will still use Wikipedia if there are adds but like you said is because they are a non-profit organisation.