10+ Best Articles on Social Networks
The most useful articles and videos on social networks from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Social Networks Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on social networks by Refind users in 2023.
Videos
Watch a video to get a quick overview.
NEW! Most Popular Social Networks 2003
Timeline of most popular social networks from 2003 to 2022. Measured by monthly active users worldwide. Data source: press releases, 10-k sec filings, indust...
NEW! Most Popular Social Networks 2003
Timeline of most popular social networks from 2003 to 2022. Measured by monthly active users worldwide. Data source: press releases, 10-k sec filings, indust...
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on social networks—all under 10 minutes.
The inside story of how Facebook designed the like button—and made social media into a popularity contest
In terms of sheer impact, the like button was one of the most successful pieces of code ever shipped. But when you examine the quality of that impact, its flaws become glaring.
The importance of social networks for innovation and productivity
Social networks facilitate the diffusion of ideas across individuals and firms, and because of this, they play an important role in productivity growth. In this post we explain how this works.
Niche Networks
Rethinking scale for social networks in the era of app inundation
The year social networks were no longer social
The term “social network” has become a meaningless association of words. Pair those two words and it becomes a tech category, the equivalent of a single term to define a group of products. But are social networks even social anymore? If you have a feeling of tech fatigue when you open the Facebook app, you’re […]
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on social networks.
Mastodon: A New Hope for Social Networking
With centralized, ad-driven social networks in disarray and suffering from misinformation, harassment, and declining users, can the long-simmering Mastodon microblogging system offer a distributed…
Ranked: The World’s Most Popular Social Networks, and Who Owns Them
Currently, there are over 4.5 billion people around the world who use some form of social media—about 57% of the global population. Yet, while social media&
How to buy a social network, with Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg
Matt Mullenweg explains the myriad challenges now being faced by Elon Musk.
Why These Social Networks Failed So Badly
Sixteen years ago, the sun set on Web 1.0, and we embarked by the light of our smartphones to 24/7 connectivity, down a road paved with corporate blunders, littered with yesterday’s top 8 friends,…
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