IN BETWEEN WATCHING Ireland defeat Wales and stocking up on loaves of bread, you may have heard some buzz online over the weekend about Vero, the latest social media app.
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“ANOTHER social media app that I have to join?”, you scream into the oncoming Beast From The East as you internally debate the merits of retreating from society to live in a cave.
You’re not alone. It was a sentiment shared by many online.
But with Vero apparently becoming an overnight success, trending on the App Store and has been dubbed ‘the new instagram’, should you join?
Here’s the top five talking points you need to know.
1. It’s a ‘no ads, no algorithms’ Social Media App
Vero, which first launched in 2015, has gained traction because it is a ‘no ads, no algorithms’ social media platform. This appeals to users of Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook, who are increasingly p**sed at the platforms.
Instagram has changed from a cool chronological feed of artsy and original photos to a long stream of highly stylised photoshopped pictures, sponsored’ posts and ‘high engagement’ posts.
Just this month, 800,000 Snapchat users signed a petition to reverse Snapchat’s new, confusing format which prioritises paid content instead of the content of your friends.
Queen of Snapchat, Kylie Jenner, last week pronounced the death of Snapchat and in the process wiped $1.3 billion (€1 billion) off its value.
Apart from Facebook’s inability to stop fake news contributing to the election of the worst U.S president in history, there are privacy concerns as well as the fact that Facebook’s coolness factor died the day your granny joined Facebook and began commenting on all your Thailand photos.
So the accumulation of frustrations with traditional social media platforms means that people are on the lookout for a cool new social media app that addresses their grievances..
2. Chronological Newsfeed
A huge benefit for users is that posts on Vero actually appear in chronological order – something Facebook and Instagram users have consistently called for a return to because you look like a weirdo stalker liking someone’s post from 3 days ago.
3. It addresses the elephant in the room about social media
There’s been a lot of talk of late about how social media use can make people feel lonelier than ever.
Vero is appealing to those who want a “safe, genuine reflection of their real-life relationships in an online setting.”
“In real life, people are never presented with a one size fits all audience,” the company maintains. “We share different things with different people.”
Vero allows users to categorize their connections as ‘close friend’, ‘friend’, ‘acquaintance’, or ‘follower’ and users can post a range of content (links, text posts, photos, film recommendations etc), as well as direct messages.
Users can decide which posts are available to be seen by which category of connections, allowing for more privacy and control and for a more personal connection with friends you’re closest to.
4. It’s free to join…for now.
It’s set to become a subscription-based social network, with users charged a small ‘annual fee’ to sign up. This sounds like a drawback, but is a positive for users, as Vero explains on their site
Our subscription model will allow us to keep Vero advertising-free, and to focus solely on delivering the best social experience instead of trying to find new ways to monetise our users’ behaviour or tricking them back into the app with notifications.
Companies can still post but there will be no sponsored pop-up adverts. Instead, companies can curate links to external sites and pay for a ‘buy now’ button on Vero.
5. They’re currently experiencing technical difficulties
Due to the huge surge in popularity, users of Vero have reported difficulties with posting on the app.
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Which has annoyed old users…
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And made new users think that it’s not worth the effort…
However, many have then experienced difficulties with deleting the app..
So what do you think? Do you think Vero is worth the effort of joining another social media app or is it just another flash in the pan?
