Facebook “steals” from other platforms

By Justin Crouch

As Facebook becomes larger and increasingly relevant, more than one billion users now have access to applications which integrate features from other unique platforms.

Mobile applications such as Snapchat have had difficulty keeping up as Facebook integrates new features which originated from unique applications such as these, while Vine is taking it harder after being completely shut down. Facebook executives never asked for permission to use this idea. Should it be considered stealing?

Katie Stokes, owner of Blab Media, a social media marketing company, prefers the separation of platforms.

“I like Snapchat, and I like that it’s separate from Facebook so I think I’d prefer it that way. I use the two platforms very differently and that’s fine by me,” said Stokes.

This new distribution can seriously impact the original application’s appeal, so is it fair to take an idea so blatantly from another platform?

“Issues always arise when they move into monetization mode,” said Stokes. “As with any business there comes a point where they need to consider sales, income and since they have captured such a massive user base on Facebook and Instagram, it’s no surprise that once they reach certain thresholds their strategies change.”

For a brand to continue and prosper, Stokes believes the idea is to “design a solution by gathering inspiration from the world around you.” As someone who uses most forms of social media, Stokes said she would not be surprised if Facebook incorporated more ideas from Snapchat. Stokes’ view on gathering inspiration demonstrates how Instagram has also taken part in this integration despite being successful on their own.

Cass Laliberté is a St. Clair College student studying office and business administration.

“Facebook, like any other company, should be branding their own ideas and not taking or stealing from other businesses,” said Laliberté.

She believes if she were in control of Facebook’s active development she would “take all ideas into account, but that wouldn’t lead me to steal ideas from people.” She only uses Facebook and while these features would be new to her, she considers Facebook only a place to keep up with family and friends to “occasionally play the odd mind-numbing Facebook game.”

More than a seventh of the world’s population is already using Facebook so the platform is already quite stable. Innovation is a common suggestion indicated by the responses of Stokes and Laliberté for the continual development of the Facebook platform. Applications like Snapchat, Instagram and the recently shut down Vine have been used differently among the community, emphasizing their individualism.

If users continue to utilize Snapchat alongside Facebook taking most of their ideas, these applications may have nothing to fear.