The internet can be a gruesome place to be, ruthless and unforgiving. And this is why Path, the former competitor to Facebook, is closing down.
Other than Facebook, the internet seems to have a tighter place for social media networks to thrive. Path was a rival to Facebook, and was even touted as the next Facebook. It's a social network built from its inception for mobile users, with a focus on smaller groups to eliminate unwanted noise common on other social media networks.
Its ambitions were greeted with open hands. But the social media industry evolves and becomes more centered to instant sharing, Stories and links,. As a result. Path's ambitions vanquished.
In an announcement, the social media said that it's removing its app from Google Play Store and Apple App Store on October 1st 2018, to then shutting down its services on October 18th. Finally Path is closing its customer service on November.
It is with deep regret to announce that Path service will be discontinued. It has been a long journey and we sincerely thank each one of you for your years of love and support Path.
Please visit here https://t.co/2MFh5A7C23 for more details. pic.twitter.com/rczKgx6ooW— Path (@path) September 17, 2018
Path was founded in San Francisco, in 2010 by former Facebook executive Dave Morin and Napster creators Dustin Mierau and Shawn Fanning.
The company successfully raised nearly $70 million in funding from big investors, including Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, Index Ventures, Redpoint, Kleiner Perkins, and Greylock Partners. When Path was only a few months old, Google had tried to buy it for $100 million, but been declined.
What made Path unique was its strategy in differentiating itself from other social media networks. Initially, Path only allows users to interact to just 50 of their contacts, though this was later expanded to 150 people, 500, to then no limits. But still, it posed a unique approach in social media where things are limited to keep distractions and unwanted noise away.
That positioned Path as a more private alternative to Facebook, complete with some additional design and features that made it unique and interesting.
At its peak, the service had around 50 million users, and was once raising money at a valuation of $500 million.
But later, things didn't look good for Path, affecting its growth momentum.
The company was sold to South Korean messaging company Daum Kakao in 2015. Kakao knew that Path was popular in Indonesia, the world’s fourth-largest population where Path had four million users, and also where it received $25 million investment from Bakrie Global Group.
However, since Facebook and Instagram continue to conquer most of people's social media activities, even hurting Snapchat, Twitter and some other social media networks, apparently, Path was also affected dearly after previously dealing with privacy controversies.
Kakao that saw Path struggling on its feet, discarded it altogether.
Facebook ultimately defeated Path, and Path's blooming shine faded grey. This shows how ruthless the internet can be, especially for a social media that isn't Facebook which boasts billions of users and aggressively ‘borrowed’ elements from anyone it sees fit.
So yes, the downfall of Path was predicted.
And Path official announcement made everything complete and indeed inevitable.
"Along our journey we have laughed and cried with you, and learned valuable lessons. And it is now inevitable to wind down the service to prioritize our work to serve you with better products and services," said Path.
Earlier in 2018, Dave Morin responded to the Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal by revealing that he was considering rebuilding "a better Path."