By Polina Pallieraki,
These days, few social perceptions have changed as dramatically as our attitudes toward social media. The domination of the already known social media, like Facebook or Instagram is in high doubt, as many of the users have started to realize a much more “hidden” perception. The Cambridge Analytica scandal has only highlighted how social media platforms exploit their users’ personal data for the shale of many organizations that use them in order to manipulate the public point of view.
Many experts of the technological space have started to talk on how pretentious Mark Zuckerberg already is, while trying to defend Facebook with fake apologies. If that’s the case, then why would Facebook feel the need to warn the individuals who would talk upon the issue? The company’s interest is only focused on its stock value and public image. Although few still harbor delusions about the reliability of social networks, the majority of users seem to find it difficult to part with these platforms. Many initiatives have started in order to dimish the Facebook impact, but to no avail, such as the #DeleteFacebook initiative, initiated by WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton in March 2018. Despite the gained attention and interest, it failed to convince its 2.5 billion users to stop visiting the platform created by Mark Zuckerberg every day.
It is obvious that social networks play a vital role in the daily life of modern people, as they manage to cover the human importance applied to communication, information, and entertainment. The Internet is nowadays, after all, the number one factor of communication, as app start-ups make their appearance in a more frequent way.
On that matter, alternative social networking platforms are the talk of the last years, that challenge the already famous platforms and, at the same time, try to correct their faults, incorporating technological innovation to reconcile digital socialization with privacy security. A particularly notable example of this trend is Joyn, which is a new app that is being developped in Greece. What Joyn focuses on is the promise for an ethical alternative and the reduction of problems of the existing large networks, according to its Greek-British creator, Yiannis Tsopanis.
The design of Joyn started in June 2019 and is now still continued. What makes the app stand out is that it puts the user first, which means, allowing them to determine the content they prefer to see online and also control how personal data are being used and where they’re shared.
The online content into six categories: information and politics, products and businesses, content from public figures and influencers, activism and charity campaigns, entertainment, and, finally, local businesses.
Tsopanis sounds confident in his vision and also disappointed on Facebook. “In 2019, Facebook canceled more fake profiles than the total number of its real users“, he claimes. Due to the many fake accounts created, Joyn decided to firstly address this specific issue by verifying the accounts one by one, along with the cooperation of companies such as SecureKey, YOTI, and rapidID. In that way, only verified users can participate. However, Joyn’s founder points out that by respecting the user’s choice not to be identified, the user is limited to a read-only version of the platform.
The ability that the users hold in order to determine the content they see, is one of the main reasons why Joyn is predicted to be a future hit. Each user can set the percentage they want for each category separately, thus regaining control of the content, according to Tsopanis. The settings can be easily altered by each user, allowing, for example, users who want political information during the week and entertainment on the weekends to easily switch from one content category to another with just a few clicks.
The users hold the real control over how they handle their personal data. They can choose which companies access their data and with the use of blockchain technology, Joyn can never directly access it. In addition, users are paid with cryptocurrency to view ads, receiving 25% of the ad’s value each time they scroll over it, following the logic that users should be rewarded for providing their data, according to Tsopanis.
Joyn is expected to be soon fully developped as it has attracted the interest of the investment community. But for Tsopanis, this is more than just a simple app. It is a way of connection to his bloodline and homeland. “I decided to develop Joyn in Greece – my father’s homeland – because it seemed the most suitable place,” says Tsopanis. “There is no better place to try to protect digital democracy than where it started“, he adds.
Reference
- Joyn, ένα Facebook που σέβεται την ιδιωτικότητα. H Kαθημερινή. Αvailable here
