Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2011, as an opinion piece, and the figure of Facebook’s 600 million registered users and the Oscar nominations for The Social Network date from then. Tuenti later lost ground to Facebook and, as far as is known, closed its social network around 2016.
Without any ill intent (of that I’m sure), the media themselves (television, newspapers, online news sites, etc.) may be acting subliminally on Spaniards’ subconscious when it comes to choosing a social network, hurting our homegrown product and helping Facebook grow.
If you think about it, every time social networks come up on television, it’s to report that a girl has been threatened through the social network Tuenti, another has been harassed on Tuenti, a minor has been blackmailed on Tuenti, 15% of Tuenti profiles may belong to people who aren’t who they say they are, and so on… as if Facebook had no fake profiles and these problems didn’t happen there on a larger scale, given that it’s a social network with more users.
The news Spaniards see about Facebook tends to be along the lines of: Facebook passes 600 million registered users worldwide, Facebook, the movie, gets Oscar nominations…
Some people forget that among the millions of people who use social networks in Spain, there are those who know little about the subject. So when they hear these stories, they might subconsciously come to think that Tuenti is a less secure social network than Facebook, which is the biggest social network in the world (and therefore the best).
I subscribe to news feeds about Facebook and Tuenti, and believe me when I tell you that every time I get news about Tuenti it’s to say something bad has happened, while the Facebook news is about some positive change. So much so that even I have sometimes wondered: “Is everyone on Tuenti crazy?”
In fact, I invite you to try the experiment yourselves, and you’ll see clearly just how much we undervalue our own product. I’m almost afraid to open my Tuenti now 🙂
I’ll say it again: I’m completely sure this is done without any ill will toward Tuenti, but sometimes we break something without meaning to, and then it has to be fixed.
Some positive news about Tuenti:
Featured image: Joxe Aranzabal from Elorrio, Basque Country, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
