No ads
No shady algorithms to influence behavior
No social experimentation
Freedom from corporate ulterior motives
Your data is your data
Operational costs paid by donation (or literally my own pocket as long as it is feasible)
I'm a software engineer that is fed up with social networks that exist to sell you things or influence how you think and act. I intend on building a free social network that is never monetized by ads and never uses your information for the purpose of performing social experiments or training algorithms. When I set out to create a free social network I meant it in every sense of the word.
I'll be quite honest, I don't know exactly what technologies or methods I will employ for this effort but I promise you that every decision made along the way is with the users in mind. I will not make any kind of profit on this. If it grows to the point of needing a more "corporate" structure, I will form a U.S. 501(c) 3, guaranteeing that nobody involved is motivated by profit and any donations or money made along the way are put back into the operation of the network.
I want social media to return to its original purpose: connecting people. I realize this is not a small feat and there are other projects that attempt to do the same. I recognize those projects and their noble efforts but I simply didn't feel like they completely answered the need for an open, free, social network. So lets try this!
-Cale