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Document: WM-023 P. Webb
Category: Project 2017.12.30
Who the hell creates a social network?
Abstract
A crazy person, that's who.
Body
Or, "Social networks are terrible, so I'm creating one". But…why?
*Excellent* question, buckle up gang!
Social networks in 2017 are just *bad*. There's no shortage of
articles written about how depressing, manipulative, greedy, and
morally bankrupt they are but, to what end? The same people writing
about these horrid networks continue to use them because *despite*
all the horrible things done (or ignored) by the creators to their
users, these networks have *utility*. At their very core, social
networks bring people together and double as support groups for
like-minded thinkers (for better or worse). There's (seemingly) no
incentive for the networks to make things better on behalf of their
users. Where else are they (the masses) gonna go? Mastodon?
Micro.blog? Sublevel? Scuttlebutt? HAH!
"Big Social" knows *damn well* that the average user (read: at least
70% of them) isn't going to:
1. Create a DigitalOcean, or other VPS (virtual private server)
provider account
2. Pay *money* for a server (even though the cheapest is $5)
3. Read a tutorial on GitHub for instructions on how to set up their
own Mastodon instance
4. Invite their friends and family
5. Maintain the server and *continue* paying $5/month for it
You wanna know what my friends did after I told them I was deleting
my Facebook account at the top of this year? Some responded with a
disaffected, "oh". Some were appalled at the privacy violations they
unknowingly subjected themselves to daily yet continued scrolling
their feed. Others just didn't care. Now we get to the reason social
networks are just *bad* and will continue to be: The masses simply do
not give a rat's ass, flying fuck, and/or shit. Womp womp.
To my wife's credit, she mainly uses Facebook for the mom/support
groups she's found. All those moms aren't going to a transition to a
Discord server or subreddit because the *experience* will be too
jarring and that'll make the transition unlikely to stick.
To be quite honest, *I am not much better*. I mean sure, I quit
Google because of their ever-increasing invasiveness to my privacy
and selling my user data to advertisers. I now self-host my email
(shout out to Mail-in-a-Box[1]). But…I created a new Google account
so I could still use YouTube (thinking about deleting it again and
manually keeping track of favorite channels but MEHHHHH).
I complain about Twitter *on* Twitter and guess what? I tweet like a
*mofo*. I retweet even more! I favorite! I am *disgusted* by the fact
that they utilize Drumpf in their advertisements overseas while
pretending that they cannot hold the current U.S. president to the
same standards as everyone else. I am disgusted by the way they
*enable* Nazi propaganda while simultaneously blocking such content
in Germany and France. I am disgusted by the way they effectively
*shit* on their users being attacked and for some strange reason,
*side with the oppressors/attackers*. And yet…it's the best damn
version of social media I've been on to date and that does *not* make
me happy. At some point though, you've got to stop complaining and
*take action*.
📸[Socii logo and logotype][IMG1]
Introducing *Socii* ("Oh great, another social network," you think),
my answer to the bullshit perpetuated by Big Social and the absence
of an easily accessible alternative (pronounced \\'sō-'kē\\).
Like Big Social, you'll be able to:
- add a profile picture
- have an accent color
- post updates
*Un*like Big Social, you'll be able to:
- play with a crap ton more customization options (top secret
for now)
- use tools to customize and protect your online experience
- read your timeline untouched by algorithms
"This sounds good," you say, "but how will you make money? I'm not
paying for a social network!"
Well damn, you're stingy but okay *I get it*. There will be a
merchandise shop, account upgrades like the ability to secure a
three/four character username, and something else related to the top
secret customization options mentioned above. Furthermore, there will
be a way for users to make a bit of cash themselves. It is my hope
that this will be enough to keep Socii going once the free tier
limits on some services I'm using to operate it start costing money.
To temper expectations (if only for myself), I do not expect Socii to
become "the one true network" but I would be *delighted* if people
found it to be a welcome reprieve and community of good vibes. A
private alpha will occur in early 2018 with a beta slated for
(hopefully) late summer. I'll bring people in on a rolling basis at
that point. If you'd like to be notified once early registration
opens up, feel free to sign up at socii.network[2]! 🕸
References
[1] <https://mailinabox.email>
[2] <https://socii.network/welcome>
[IMG1] <https://🔥.pixels.wtf/blog/image/2017/who-creates-social-networks-a.jpg>
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