Last year I reviewed a private social network called MeWe. A year later the platform is trending as the number one social media site.
MeWe’s rapid growth is due to multiple factors: backlash against Facebook’s broad censorship, privacy infractions, and LGBTQ violations; discontent at Twitter for censorship of conservatives; the announced closure of Google+; and recent policy changes at Tumblr.
I like the platform, and if you can convince your friends and family to join with you, you’ll safely escape the clutches of Facebook.
Check It Out: Private Platform MeWe Trending #1 Social Media Site
Lee:
For me the contact list request was page 2 of the setup. I did not authorise it to upload my contacts. Obviously doing so would enable the site to inform me who amongst my contacts are on the site. It’s all the other things that could happen with those data that have kept me from exploring the site in the past.
Andrew:
Many thanks for the reminder. I’ve finally decided to have a closer look at MeWe. I’m not aware that any of my colleagues or contacts use the platform, and I tend to use Twitter to announce project and peer-reviewed publication related news.
Perhaps I’ll get back to you with how I feel about it after a month.
I have an account there that I use mostly for sharing some original art and photographs as well as viewing the works of other members. I also read the some poetry and tech groups. I have one group that I started, Haikus and Art.
The political groups there are on the opposite side of my political position, but otherwise I like MeWe for the artistic stuff.
Looks great…except…
No ads, no fee, no user data sold, no spyware.
How do they pay for it? What are they getting out of it? Where is the profit?
Maybe I’m just a bit cynical, but after being burned by FB et.al. I wonder
Yes, it does seem strange that there are no ads. You do have to pay if you want to use more than the limited storage that comes with your account.
You do have to upload your contacts, although you can choose which ones to sync. So there is that.
I didn’t see where ai had to upload my contact list and I am certain that I didn’t. They do have one of my email addresses, but not my phone number. I see that they have a secret chat for which you pay a fee.