🏭 Industrial Social Networks

Social networks and Social media have revolutionized the way people connect and interact. They allow us to stay in touch with loved ones, discuss current events, and hang out online.

Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, rack in hundreds of million of dollars a year, all while offering a FREE service! Ever wondered how this is possible?

Here’s a simplified view of how “industrial” social networks work:

Endless growth cycle of industrial social networks

“Industrial” social networks are profit-driven ventures. The more time users spend using, the more money is generated.

And because competition is fierce, companies have been getting more and more aggressive about capturing our attention. Using all sorts of mind-tricks to keep us engaged and to keep the user base growing.

Is this hopeless? Is getting tracked and manipulated a fair price for being able to talk to our friends?

Not at all. There’s a better way!

🌱 Organic Social Networks

Millions of people have already switched to “organic” social networks, and the numbers is growing fast! Because these technologies are NOT trying to take over the world, there’s a good chance you have not heard about them.

Organic social networks are built and operated by small groups of people:

  • Your neighborhood
  • Your family
  • Your school
  • Your group of friends
  • etc.

Several organic social network apps exist, and they are designed for a single purpose: help you stay in touch with your loved ones! No strings attached. No data extraction. Organic social network apps look and feel a lot like their industrial counterparts, with a few key differences:

  • No tracking and no data-mining
  • Operated and moderated by people you know and trust
  • Built on open-source software

So why are most people still dependent on industrial technology to talk to friends?

There’s a catch…

Just like it costs time and energy to grow your own vegetables. It takes some money and time to run an organic social network. But it’s not much.

The average social network costs less than $1 per month per user. Is protecting your private conversations, your pictures, your location, worth $1 a month? That’s up to you.

Running or joining an organic social network also takes a little more work. But anyone can do it, especially because you have your friends to help you.