But if you quit Facebook, what is replace Facebook alternative for both individuals and businesses? In March 2018, Facebook was exposed to the leak of personal information of more than 87 million users. Many individuals and organizations have called for deleting accounts on this social network.
The following article will cover 10 possible social networks for you to use, as well as providing solutions for business users, shop owners on Facebook before the wave of boycott of social networks is growing.
Why should you care about Facebook’s scandal?
Most of the people who were affected by this scandal of Facebook are American. However, the list of victims has surprising number of data: nearly 500,000 Vietnamese users were collected by the Cambridge Analytica – a political consulting company that directly caused the scandal.
Facebook scandal on the newspapers (photo taken from Tuoi Tre newspaper)
On average, Vietnamese people spend 2.5 hours surfing Facebook every day, with the above 500,000 people, the amount of information exploited is very large. They can be your date of birth, interests, relationship status, political opinion, facial recognition data … even your daily routine.
In the latest discovery, Facebook even reads … the content of your private messages. Everything you say – complaining about your boss or co-worker, confiding in your best friend, or whether your relationship is favorable or not – Facebook knows everything.
This information can be used for many different purposes, such as impersonation, spamming or even blackmail, kidnapping …
But most often, this data will be sold to marketers to produce personalized ads. So, you can catch dozens of ads about shoes, briefcases or anything you just mentioned while chatting with your loved ones.
Many organizations and individuals, including prominent figures such as Elon Musk – the father of Tesla car company, Steve Wozniak – co-founder of Apple … have called for deleting accounts and stopping their activities on Facebook. The #DeleteFacebook movement is taking place wildly all over the Internet.
So, whether the goal of this scandal is not you, whether you are in Vietnam or a remote country outside the border of the United States, you should think about changing your information sharing habits, even change the social networks that you are using.
Suggest 10 social networks to replace Facebook
The following social networks have privacy settings in very detailed, clear settings or have features that help you protect your data better.
Twitter – Replace Facebook
Twitter has been a counterbalance for Replace Facebook for many years, but with 310 million users, it is far from keeping up with Facebook. However, when it comes to establishing privacy, Twitter is a little bit better than Facebook.
The difference in privacy between Facebook and Twitter lies in the default privacy policy and setting.
Signing up for a Twitter account only requires Email, it does not require too much information in the sidelines.
Right from the Twitter account registration screen, you have the following options to protect your privacy: (1) share your information for personalized advertising, (2) allow others to find you with email address and phone number.
If you disable all options, all your information is protected, hidden after successful account creation.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter does not require too much information in your profile such as movies watched, music listened to, schools learned … However, whether you fill in and display that information is due to you, but Facebook also uses tricks to stimulate you to share them more. And so, you will lose more privacy.
While Twitter’s privacy settings have been around for a long time, Facebook has only changed to make them easier to customize in recent years. In addition, Twitter also allows to turn off the status display “Typing / Seen” in the chat frame, the feature will probably never appear on Facebook.
In the past, Twitter has also been criticized for privacy issues such as setting privacy features unclear, making it difficult for people who are not tech-savvy. But over the years, Twitter has corrected a lot.
Platform: Web, Windows App, Android, iOS.
Google+
Google+ is a social network developed and operated by Google since 2011. Google+ has the same functions as Facebook: “+” button instead of “Like” or “Community” instead of “Page” and “Group”.
However, Google+ is more concerned about privacy than Facebook, even though this is a Google product, which has always had a reputation for collecting user information.
Google+ still has a relative number of users in Vietnam
By default, every time you add someone to your circle of friends, Google+ forces you to choose a group. Different groups show different intimacy, as well as the level of willingness to share information. So that when you post any status, you can control who can see the content.
Google+ privacy settings are also very clear, easy to find. You can turn off the collection of information for personalized advertising, adjust groups that can update your information or tag you in photos, or turn off the display of profiles on search engines….
Google+ is more effective when used with other applications in the Google ecosystem such as Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Keep … However, you can also use Google+ simply because you want a more secure and private feeling than Facebook.
Platform: Web, Android, iOS.
Pinterest – Replace Facebook
Pinterest is an image social network, where you find and share beautiful, valuable photos to your friends.
Pinterest can be used as inspiration
Although it is all photos, the content on Pinterest is very rich. Cartoons, landscape photos, inspirational photos, food photos as well as recipes … there are countless images you can collect from Pinterest. From there you can describe yourself or tell stories that words cannot carry out.
Pinterest may remind you of Instagram – another very popular photo social network. However, Instagram is Facebook’s, so there is no guarantee of protecting user privacy. And Pinterest is very focused on user rights.
Typically, a page introducing Pinterest’s privacy policy. It is neatly written in common words that most users can understand. Pinterest also breaks the page into sections and summarizes each paragraph with a brief line. But most especially, this policy page, as well as the entire Pinterest system, is completely Vietnamese without errors.
Users will easily understand how Pinterest collects and uses information, avoiding unauthorized data exploitation.
At Pinterest, the board is where you pin your favorite pictures and share them with your friends. But if you do not like it, you can switch the board to secret mode to make sure no one but you can see the images in it. You also have the right to hide the Pinterest profile from the search results of external search engines for more comfortable use.
Platform: Web, Android, iOS.
Minds
Minds is an open source social network, born to become a connected platform, free speech and respect for privacy. It can Replace Facebook.
Minds respects privacy and freedom of speech
Because it is open source, Minds is supported by the community and is more user-oriented. Minds does not make money from advertising by outside marketers, but it does make money from Mind Plus members who pay Minds to support developers as well as unlock advanced features. Note that you can still be a member of Minds for free, you only need to pay if you want to upgrade to the Plus version only.
In addition, Minds has a very interesting feature: making digital currencies with quality content. If the content you post appeals to a wide range of followers, you will get a good return. In addition, content creators can set milestones, followers will be rewarded for reaching those milestones.
This feature ensures benefits for all participants. As a result, the system will be maintained stably, avoiding the situation of having to link money with external marketers.
In terms of safety, Minds has a strong support community, which can fix and improve security. It is not easy for hackers to attack this social network and steal users’ personal data. It can be said that although Minds is open but not fragile, it can be stronger than many other social networking platforms.
Platform: Web, Android, iOS.
Medium – Replace Facebook
Medium is a “blog-sharing” social network (reading, writing and sharing blogs) that is becoming very popular. Medium has attracted a lot of members, especially content creators and experts in many fields.
Medium attracts many content creators and experts in many fields
Replace Facebook, posts on Medium are usually better in terms of number of sentences as well as content quality. You can share everything from happy memories to academic papers, in-depth research. If someone likes the article, you will feel more shared and sympathetic, opening up the opportunity to discuss it more in depth.
Most importantly, Medium does not sell your personal information, because they do not make money through advertising. Instead, part of Medium’s income is through paid memberships.
It is free to create a Medium account, but you can upgrade your account to get access to great, exclusive articles from experts in many fields. When your posts attract a lot of views and “clap” (applause), you will gain a portion of the profits.
Platform: Web, Android, iOS.
Spiderum
Medium may be nice, but it still does not have a Vietnamese version and not many Vietnamese are involved. So, if you really like quality content, deep sharing, as well as search for intimates, then Spiderum can be an ideal destination.
Spiderum is Vietnam’s rare “blog-sharing” social network
Like Medium, Spiderum is a community for sharing information, feelings, even literary works. You can follow the users who regularly post good articles for your convenience. You can also comment on the article or send a message to that person to exchange and chat directly.
Every article in Spiderum has 2 “buttons”: “upvote” and “downvote”. The “upvote” posts will be highly rated, displayed on the home page for easy access. There is also an algorithm behind to evaluate the quality of the content most accurately.
Spiderum is currently one of Vietnam’s rare “blog-sharing” social networks. However, the platform is trying to grow with interesting features and quality content to attract users, as well as stimulate their joy of sharing.
Platform: Web.
Path
Path founder – Dave Morin, used to be a manager at Facebook and the creator of the Facebook Platform. But Morin left Facebook to create Path, a social network that Replace Facebook with completely different criteria and missions.
Path limits the number you can link to 500
In the beginning, Path was limited to 50 accounts per account. Currently, Path has extended this limit to 500 friends. But that is still a relatively small number compared to Facebook, and is an ideal number to ensure good social relationships. You have to choose to make friends with the people closest to you, or those who work the closest or closest to your field, avoiding making large friends, resulting in unrelated “newsfeed” content.
Paths do not have complicated settings, instead privacy-related settings take precedence. Thus, users will easily pay attention and adjust their information protection.
In a recent response to Facebook’s scandal, CEO Dave Morin promised to rebuild a better path to avoid getting into Facebook’s footsteps, avoiding becoming “the result of an infinite desire for expansion and profit”.
Currently, Path is only available on iOS and Android phone platforms. Path is developing a web version, which is accessible but still very sketchy. If you often access social media on your phone, Path is a must-try platform.
Platform: Web (beta), Android, iOS.
Vero
Vero is emerging as an effective Replace Facebook in both the international community and Vietnam. Vero helps you build truly engaging relationships while ensuring privacy and safety for yourself.
Vero focuses on real relationships
Vero pledged to say no to advertising. Instead, Vero will charge users a subscription fee, but it will only cost a few dollars a year. If it is Facebook, to remove annoying and dangerous ads, you will definitely have to pay a price much higher than Vero’s predicted number.
In addition, the platform does not use user information collection algorithms to arrange the display order of posts. Vero only displays content in chronological order – from newest to oldest.
You will not be led into hot topics and then forget about updates from people who are really important. Of course, you also will not spend hours just browsing through the news that’s been viewed a lot – usually high marketing content, created by marketers and by someone other than you.
Platform: Android, iOS.
Zalo
Zalo is an OTT application and a homegrown social network that is so familiar to Vietnamese users and it can Replace Facebook if no Facebook. According to statistics, by 2018, Zalo has reached 80 million users across the country. Almost everyone installs Zalo on their smartphones for easy contact and update news of friends and relatives.
Zalo is a popular social network in Vietnam
Although only a social network targeting domestic users, Zalo is superior to Facebook in protecting user privacy.
Typically, in any post on Zalo, you are only allowed to see comments written by your friends. And vice versa, only your friends can see your comment. In addition, you can also block any friend in the phonebook does not allow to see updates on your wall.
Every time you post a status, you have the option of sharing objects. You can choose an individual or a group of chat participants, even create a new group. It is important that the tool is placed in a prominent, easily identifiable position, thereby avoiding the unintended sharing of information by users.
Platform: Web, Windows, Mac, Windows Phone, Android, iOS (only phones with social networking features).
LINE – Replace Facebook
Like Zalo, LINE is also a social network integrated into OTT application. LINE is famous for its fresh design, funny stickers and many other interesting features.
LINE was very popular in Vietnam during the OTT boom period
LINE allows each user to create an ID to easily make friends without revealing email information or phone number. You can also prevent others from automatically making friends with your LINE registered phone number. This gives you more control over making friends, as well as using your personal contact information.
If you activate the “letter sealing” feature, your messages will be encrypted and protected with a password. In addition, by default, the files you send are only valid for a certain period of time, when the deadline will not be opened or read. If your phone accidentally gets into someone’s hands, it is hard for them to see sensitive content in your messages or files.
Platform: Windows, Windows Phone, Android, iOS, Chrome.
Is Facebook dead?
Before the scandal was uncovered, Facebook had about 2.1 billion users. That is not counting the number of members of Instagram and Snapchat, two other well-known applications of Facebook. So, even if thousands of people delete the account, it is not much compared to the number of members of the “big family” Facebook.
On Facebook, there are representatives of hundreds of thousands of business and brand representatives as well as active online shopping services and shops. Obviously, Facebook is their most powerful customer access tool. So, they will only leave Facebook once the number of users falls too large.
Besides, the leaders of this platform are also urgently correct. Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg apologized and promised to change the structure and policies, giving users more control over their data.
So, it can be said: Facebook will not die soon! A future without Facebook is still far away!
However, it is certain that a large number of users will leave the largest social networking platform on the planet, looking for a new “safe and cozy” home.
What are the solutions for businesses or individuals selling on Facebook?
If you are a business user or you sell via Facebook, this wave of boycotts of social media could hurt your business. In addition, your account itself will be at risk of being exploited and using unauthorized information.
However, if you bluntly leave Facebook, throw the application in which you can earn money from then it is not easy, even unpredictable consequences.
So, there are 2 most practical solutions for you now: join other social networks early and create or take care of your website.
A – Join other social networks
The simplest solution for you is multi-channel marketing, that is, besides Facebook, you must also engage and interact with users on other social networks. By doing this, you can both optimize the number of potential customers and reduce your dependence on Facebook.
Businesses and shop owners can use other social networks to promote, sell and market
The number of users turning to use other social networks is not small. It may be a small but very valuable market share, bringing long-term profits. Not to mention, social networks with centralized content will make it easier to find groups of potential customers.
Zalo is currently the most potential sales and marketing channel in Vietnam after Facebook. This platform has investment for e-commerce so using it to sell products online is extremely easy and effective. You can create a store on Zalo Shop for free.
You can use Zalo to interact and take care of your customers. And you can manage and operate your store through mobile applications or on computers. With an easy-to-use Vietnamese interface and a large number of users, Zalo will be the right strategy for business owners and online shop owners.
Maybe you are interested:
- Zalo Marketing – Effective online selling solution
- Experience online sales on zalo
But, Zalo is not the only name. Google+ and Twitter, though not used much in Vietnam, are not completely forgotten. The scandal of Facebook like that is very likely that many Vietnamese people will switch to the two major social networking platforms after this Facebook. Almost every business has a Google+ or Twitter account, but they are rarely updated or removed. Now is a great opportunity for businesses and shop owners to re-care for these social networking platforms.
Alternatively, you can also use LINE. Although not as prominent as the time when OTT applications exploded, LINE still has a large number of loyal users. Not to mention the era of Vietnam – Japan economic cooperation, LINE is an effective means to reach customers in the country of Cherry Blossom.
Lastly, consider using Medium. Medium is a smart choice in the present time with many thin and poor-quality posts as currently. You can blog for businesses on it, and then link to the business page in the profile. If you already have a business blog like Mona Media’s blog, you can use the import function to re-enter content into Medium. However, make sure your content is truly quality. Medium users mostly like in-depth, useful and practical posts, if you can convince them, your reputation will double.
B – Create website
The second solution helps reduce dependence on other platforms, in case there are scandals like Facebook’s this time. That is creating or optimizing your website.
Many individuals and businesses selling goods via Facebook do not have a real representative website. Many people have, but still have not taken care of their website the best way. So, create a website or redesign your website in the most optimal way to attract direct visitors from customers.
Because owning a website with high popularity and reputation is a sustainable measure for business.
Your online sales website does not depend on the status of any other external platform. If one day Facebook or Zalo closes, you are not afraid to directly affect yourself.
Moreover, you can SEO your website so customers can easily find it. If your website has an interesting experience, quality content that is easily found, then other people do not need to access through any communication channel at all.
Especially, if you have a shop selling goods on Facebook, create a website for yourself. Professional online shopping websites will have features such as online payment, customer management, shopping carts, products and prices … These tools bring better business efficiency and shopping experience to customers, than the current working style via Facebook.
You may want to see: Suggesting ways to increase online sales for your website
Conclusion
To be honest, revealing personal information is inevitable when using free services like Facebook. However, it is not possible to ignore the excess in the way Facebook silently tracks and collects user data. This has unpredictable consequences, opening up opportunities for organizations with malicious intent to profit.
So, in parallel with the use of controlled personal information on Facebook in particular and on the internet in general, you can also try to leave Facebook and use 10 social networks to replace Facebook in the post to protect yourself in network world.