Parler vous? A Twitter alternative surges following new social media bans

Most recently, Twitter censored Trump over his warnings to protestors seeking to set up an anonymous zone in Washington DC. He said ‘if they try, they’ll be met by serious force’. Apparently, that message was not allowed by the Twitter. Because, apparently, Twitter gets to decide which of the messages of a president are fit for broadcast.

Of course, that’s not the first time Twitter has acted as the central bureau of censorship, but people’s patience is wearing thin. Not surprisingly, people are not impressed with these antics, and they are going elsewhere. Most recently, I’m seeing a big inflow into the app Parler. Why Parler?

Their goal is to offer the world a platform that protects user’s rights, supports publishers and builds online communities. Parler aims to empower users to control their social experience. Users can be responsible to engage content as they see fit. Parler accepts your right to express your thoughts, opinions and ideals online. Just like in society, Parler interactions are subject to guidelines; and when you respect them, you are free to participate wholly. Sounds pretty good, right?

Well, sounds better than Twitter, where it’s up to a small panel to intervene as they see fit. Now what are some of those Parler guidelines? They won’t allow spam, outright terror organizations, unsolicited advertising, libel/slander, incitement to violence, blackmail, porn, indecency (gross stuff), obscenity, plagiarism, bribery, doxing, etc. The list runs pretty long, but it’s one that very few people would have problems with. (Also, the list mostly includes things that are illegal to begin with). That said, what it all boils down to is how these policies are going to be enforced.

Twitter will need to respond on their policy stance; they’ll need to pivot. There was been talk of an open version (uncensored, unfiltered), that can be activated on demand. If they don’t do this, and continue with their leftist agenda, they are going to see outflows escalate. Can they realistically keep people on the platform with such a feature? My speculation here is that such a feature would disable all filters. Nobody wants a totally unfiltered feed, much like you could not live with zero spam filtering on your email. Freedom of speech does not mean let’s all accept a torrent of scam letters, repeated bot posts and endless viagra ads.

Parler say they design the next generation of social media where content creators are supported for participating. There is not too much detail on this yet, but it’s seems to me that we should be expecting some sort of end user remuneration scheme, much like on platforms such as Minds.com or Steem. This model is gaining ground, and continues to do so. We will see a complete shift in the digital ecosystem. It is happening, albeit at a glacial pace, but the user is becoming a component in the monetization equation. Give it a few years, and users will be asking ‘what’s in it for me’, when joining any new social network.

Meanwhile, Unilever, Verizon, Adidas, Ford, Microsoft, have all decided to cancel their Facebook advertising campaigns in a coordinated act of virtue signaling. Because apparently, Facebook is not doing enough of what Twitter and Youtube is doing, meaning cancelling unpleasant voices). These are huge advertisers, and Facebook shares took a dip — 5%. This is not a lot, yet, but rest assured that if we see revenues dip and stay down, Zuckerberg will change course in a heartbeat. And that will make Facebook even more of a Truman show, even more curated, even more inorganic, inauthentic and boring and that’s going to accelerate its slow motion demise.

Does any of the censorship and the thwarting of political messaging bother you? Are you going to join Parler? Take a listen and let me know on podcast@nyman.media.

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