While it's far too early to proclaim 2014 as the year Facebook began its decline, such thinking wouldn't be out of the question considering how many new social networks have hit the web this year.
Invite-only Ello captured headlines late last month amidst the Facebook real-name controversy but now, the attention is turning to another invite-only network called Tsu.
Unlike Facebook and Twitter which profit from user-generated content while those generating the content get nothing, Tsu believes users should be paid for their content. The company will take a 10 percent cut from the money it generates from advertising and distribute the rest to its users.
Of the remaining money for members, 50 percent goes to the content creator while the other 50 percent is distributed through the "rule of infinite thirds" based on who invited the content creator to the network and so forth down the ladder. Once a user has accumulated $100 in their account, they can cash out.
As you dig deeper into Tsu, however, it becomes clear that it's more of a content monetization system (with an integrated pyramid scheme) than a true social network. Not that there's anything wrong with that - you just need to be aware of what's really going on.
All things considered, it's certainly a more sustainable business model than the one that Ello is going with (no advertising at all).
It'll be interesting to see how this plays out over the long term and how Tsu handles those looking to game the system to generate maximum revenue. For example, what's to stop a user from spamming their timeline with an endless supply of content? Furthermore, how will they deal with the inevitable "Digg Army" - users that ban together to promote each other's content for financial gain?