A few comments on freedom of speech and censoring: A private company (like the ones below or FB/Twitter) DO have the constitutional right to censor and control their platform. However, this can be taken too far and become controlling. Even in America we as individuals have the freedom of speech – within limits. There are ALWAYS limits. If we didn’t have any limits we’d have chaos. There are things that are illegal, and clearly hateful and/or violent. Even on my personal pages/blog I occasional censor things that I feel are clearly offensive or will be damaging to others to see. So when I say “free speech” or reference “controlling content” below – I understand that there are still some limits. Censoring to a small degree may still happen and that’s OK. Pedophiles shouldn’t be allowed to have a platform where they are free to say/share disgusting things do we agree? Good.
For spoiler, aka my top pick(s), scroll to bottom.
MeWe:
MeWe was created in 2016 and has been steadily growing. The app, MeWe, calls itself the "Anti-Facebook" and offers the industry's first Privacy Bill of Rights offering members control of their data, newsfeeds and overall privacy on the platform. The app’s latest push for members comes on the heels of an op-ed in the New York Post by MeWe founder and CEO, Mark Weinstein. MeWe pledges to never mine, share or sell your data.
MeWe offers a free basic membership with a limited amount of data storage, but there’s a premium one you can pay $4.99 a month for which includes voice and video calling (business pages also have a fee). It used to have ads, but no longer does. You have a personal profile and there are groups, but the focus is largely around group chats which many people like (I for one though don’t care for that feature).
Pros: They don’t collect, use or sell your data. A number of groups/public figures I follow on facebook are already fairly active on MeWe so that’s a plus.
Cons: It’s not quite as attractive and easy as facebook (or as some others below). It’s been slow at growing (no wonder the popularity of facebook and twitter though) and there are some rumor’s about “hate groups” flourishing on this platform (although that’s heresay, and it also seems you’re unlikely to encounter them unless you go looking).
Parler:
Parler was created by John Matze as an alternative to twitter. Thus the similarities in design and usage. He’s a right-leaning pro-freedom of speech (within limits of course).
It does automatically make your profile public, but you can change your settings to private (only people that you approve can see your parleys [posts] – which I think means people you are following).
Here’s a good article explaining and reviewing Parler:
https://thewire.in/media/parler-free-speech
Pros: If you like twitter, you’ll like the design and usage fine as it’s pretty similar. I’ve also heard it’s similar to Instagram but wouldn’t know since I don’t have that platform. I have Twitter but I rarely use it.
Cons: If you prefer facebook over twitter you
probably won’t like this design as much. It’s not super easy to figure out or
use, but it’s OK. There also still seems to be some concerning things about
censoring still happening and liability (see the article above). Also, no groups or pages, just profiles.
Orbys
Orbys.net was founded by the owner of Right2Voice News, Robert Farrow. It used to be http://right2voice.com but they’ve moved to orbys.net. My computer is giving me a warning about the Right2Voice website http://right2voice.com but maybe that’s because it’s no longer active.
Here's some info on it: http://www.standardnewswire.com/news/4503416710.html
The layout and features are very similar to facebook - you have “friends”, there are groups you can join, pages you can like/follow, you can “like” things, etc. This is very attractive to me personally. It’s quite user-friendly and was pretty easy to figure out.
Pros: Accessible via computer and an app.
Cons: For having come out before Wimkin, it doesn’t quite measure up. There’s less activity on there (at least it seems like it, there are a lot less groups) than Wimkin, and you can only “like” (no other reactions – at least when I was on there).
Wimkin:
Wimkin is brand new, launched end of July 2020. Created by Jason Sheppard as an alternative to facebook – and is almost same exactly the same as Orbys in design and features (Orbys was created first).
It's been down a LOT because of attacks and things not working, and lots of things have been lost, but they’ve kept data safe. It’s still a site in the working so you’ll need some patience for now anyway. But they’ve already done some great updates in the past week that have made it even better!
The name derives from www.worldmustknow.com and the WMKN News that will be out soon.
You can do anything you can on Facebook except GoLive as they're still building that feature. You can upload music just like Myspace of old, and use instant messenger, create pages for your music, art, movies, etc. Groups are encouraged and not policed. They only monitor for true criminal intent. While Wimkin is serious about not being controlling and censoring they have also stated they have a zero tolerance policy for pornography or pedophilia activity. Good for them! That (any anything illegal) are their only two rules – otherwise they do not censor anything.
No adds. No fees. They do not mine, share or sell your personal data. They currently do not make any money from Wimkin. This is pretty neat, and I hope it stays this way.
Pros: The design and features are very similar to FB which for me is a big plus. It even has various reactions (not just “like”) including a “dislike” (thumbs down) reaction! Bonus points!
Cons: As it’s brand spankin’ new, it’s going to take a while for more people to get on board…. thus it’s not very active yet. But I’m hoping it’ll take off!
Colleqtiv:
So Colleqtiv was founded by the owners of Earthley – a company that produces natural and herb-based tinctures and skin products that has for years now stood and fought for honest reporting/news and medical freedom. Knowing the founders (at least having followed them for some years now) makes me trust this platform a whole lot. No adds, no fees, no collecting or selling data.
Pros: Super trustworthy – I have confidence this platform will stay strong with protecting free-speech and not controlling content (unless it’s illegal or porn or something).
Cons: It is only available on the app, not on your computer (I would like to be able to access it both places). It is also mainly group-based – at least I haven’t figured out how to connect with specific individuals on there. I personally don’t really like that. Features are extremely limited. They are planning on updates, but don’t know what they are yet.
Chadit
Chadit does not coming up in online searches when I was trying to learn more about it. But I did finally find the founders - two super fun sisters who are super pro-conservative. Here’s their website: https://www.diamondandsilk.com/ They’ve been very outspoken about various things and have been blocked from facebook and twitter on occasion. Thus the reason behind their social media site! They also have a show here: https://www.newsmaxtv.com/Shows/Diamond-and-Silk-Crystal-Clear
It has a nice layout and is fairly easy to figure out (better than MeWe but not quite as good as Wimkin). Also has various reactions.
Pros: Nice site, lots of similar features to facebook.
Cons: No app for this yet so that’s a big downside. Also, like Orby’s not a lot of people on there yet, but we’ll see. I’m not sure how much it’ll take off because the founders are extremely right-leaning and pro-Trump (which will turn off a lot of people). These other sites are conservative as well, but not quite so overkill.
CONCLUSION:
Wimkin.com is my favorite layout, but Mewe and Parler are larger and I more people I actually know. I am currently (somewhat) active on all three - you should be able to find me by just searching my name. All of them have great features, are accessible via phone and computer, and are pretty easy to navigate and figure out.
