MeWe ~ For A Social Media Change
Google Plus Shuts Down
Facebook Sells Your Data
— MeWe Can Help —
By Alexa Shaw
MeWe Member
Recently, Janice Wald, of Mostly Blogging, asked me to write about MeWe as a Social Media platform. I was happy to add my 2-cents. My colleagues and I, have been MeWe members since 2016. While I can’t tell you about Mark Weintsein’s visionary origin story behind MeWe, I can certainly fill you in on its cornucopia of features.
What convinced everyone at This Is Saipan & 15th Parallel Photography, was that Mark Weinstein, the founder and creator of MeWe, had intentionally designed his social media platform around the shield of protecting “personal privacy.” Imagine, a social network designed with the specific intent of building an infrastructure that maintains ‘OUR’ privacy and is not intent on stripping it away.
Another feature we really appreciate – NO ADS! There are no commercial ads on MeWe. Your group meetings, conversations, chats, messages, etc. are ALL ad free. Unlike Google+ & Facebook, MeWe is a website with NO commercial influence. That leaves us free to write, post, meet-up, chat, upload pics/clips/videos and more: about pretty much anything we want as long as we adhere to common sense and follow the current laws of society.
With so many new and recent US and EU requirements drowning social networking, FB & G+ began to lose ground years ago, not to mention massive collections of fines and lawsuits, which they continue to do nearly everyday.
MeWe is fairly new, and in July 2018, it surpassed 2 million active members. Many of these are coming from Facebook and Google. With MeWe’s rapid growth it has been predicted it will reach hundreds of millions more by 2021. With such an immense and complicated paradigm shift in social networking standards, laws, requirements and infrastructure, those are pretty awesome numbers.
I was a bit overwhelmed with our MeWe homepage after logging in for the first time. As with anything, you must make the time to get use to what’s in front of you. Once I did, I felt freedom and introduced MeWe to everyone at work. Then we told our friends in the US. We live and work in the Northern Mariana Islands. I know, but someone has to live in a tropical paradise, right?
Some of MeWe’s features include:
No ads;
No spying;
No BS;
#Not4Sale (Members are NOT for sale – think Instagram, Twitter, G+ and FB selling your personal data);
Unlimited group creation;
1-on-1 private and open chats;
Open personal and group chats;
Disappearing content;
Custom camera w/GIF creation;
Live voice & video;
“Next-Gen” voice messaging;
Ultra secret chats with double-ratchet encryption (a paid feature add-on);
Custom personal and group profile creation;
Personal cloud storage;
Total control over your data and content – you own what you upload – period;
NO censorship (beyond societal requirements);
NO content manipulation;
NO news feed to push your content to the bottom of the page;
NO facial recognition;
Every public post, chat, image, video, comment, etc. is seen by all of your fellow MeWe members;
TRUE timeline ordering – with no outside interference;
Custom profile pics;
Custom banner images;
Notifications you customize;
Member suggestions for improvements, new features, etc. - that actually get applied;
Feedback that’s actually read and answered;
Events calendars;
Multi-language capable;
A separate “Pro” MeWe (mewepro.com), and so much more.
MeWe is browser based and cross-platform: Windows, Mac, Linux. There are mobile apps for Android and iOS or you can use your mobile browser.
MeWe is building a store for member purchases of additional features to personalize their MeWe experience without subscription fees. With so many free features, we enjoy what we’ve been given already.
If you’ve been looking to add to, or replace, Facebook or you need to fill the void of Google+ closing, think about MeWe as a worthy replacement. It’s free, private and not too difficult to make the leap. We took a chance on this Next-Gen “2016 Innovative World Technology Finalist,” and we’re all glad we did. We’ve never looked back.
Everyone reading this should give MeWe a spin. It’s fresh and filled with features not found elsewhere. It costs nothing, is fun, exhilarating and an awesome change to Facebook & Google Plus. You can choose to move away from forced commercial ads or add MeWe as an extension of your other social media needs.
MeWe’s been around for about 4 years, changing its name to MeWe in 2016 and received high praises and innovative technology recognition in that same year.
MeWe is edgy, smart, intuitive and feature rich right from the start. There are many ways MeWe is better than other social networks. The most important is that MeWe was created by putting the privacy needs of its members FIRST! Mark Weinstein, founded MeWe with the belief social media isn’t for sale and neither is our privacy.
There’s no one looking over your shoulder as you work or play. There are no big corporations demanding advertising favors for investment funds. There’s no tracking, no commercial ads and no push toward corporate interests. Everything you say, type, upload or produce, belongs to YOU. It’s never given away or sold to anyone. There’s no data mining of your personal information for private, corporate or government agency nefarious deeds.
MeWe runs on Next Generation Technology (think 2G to 5G in a single leap!). Using the power of next-gen tech is propelling MeWe to the forefront of social media worldwide. It’s been gaining momentum since the first day it went into operation with no signs of slowing or stopping in the future. If you want a fantastic alternative to Google+ or FB, MeWe should be on your things to do list.
MeWe is new, fresh and social media 2.0 and beyond. Better than Google+ & FB. Great fun for personal use. Well suited to carry on your business needs and collaboration in real time – with NO big bro listening/tracking. It has plenty of customizing features. It runs smoother and faster than other social media network sites and has no corporations pushing THEIR products on to you.
At This Is Saipan & 15th Parallel Photography, we made the move to MeWe in 2016 and we’ve never looked back. MeWe is our #1 social media home to post, play, discuss, educate and inform people of just about everything photography. We even started the MeWe group ‘Self-Taught Photographers,’ so anyone and everyone can ask questions and learn about the joys of photography and how to get the most out of their DSLR.
Mark Weinstein and his team are showing the social media giants that dedication to the people and our privacy needs, is far more rewarding than indulging in corporate greed. We agree. Seriously consider giving MeWe a try. You really can’t beat the price!
A Little About Me – The ‘Brief’ Alexa Story
I’m Alexa Shaw, photographer. I work with my Grandpa and our friends Bart, Alisha, Marley and Kyla (with James popping around now-n-then), and together we run 15th Parallel Photography and This Is Saipan.
Personal bios are not something I do. Some people love to brag/talk about themselves, I’m not one of them. I could drone on using small minded diatribe like so many others on social media, but I won’t. Instead, I’ll tell you about how I began my photography career.
I was born in Southwest Michigan then moved to Kentucky where I graduated. As a teenager I was a model and really thought that was what I wanted to do. I also did some modeling and helped my Grandpa with his photography work for a little extra cash. One day I asked him to help me choose which would be better over time. He said he wouldn’t tell me what to think, but he did give me a ton of articles, journals, model biographies, etc. and a peek at his life photographing men, women, children, pets, crime scenes, special events, funerals, etc. throughout his career of – well a long time.
He said: “Here you go. Read this and see if modeling is really what you want to do...or not.” I read everything. To learn about what goes on when the cameras aren’t looking, changed me forever. That was when I decided to become a photographer like my Grandpa and learn from him, if he would teach me.
I pitched my idea and in his typical fashion, he stood silent, just staring at me, blank face, breathing methodically as he rubbed his fingers across his goatee. It seemed like forever before he spoke and when he did, I listened.
He said college courses would be a must to get a basic concept of photography, writing and photojournalism. I’d have to take FILM and DSLR courses and apprentice with him as his “photographer’s assistant.” I later figured out that was code for “go-for.” Go for this, go for that. Set this here, over there, and everywhere. At the time I saw no wisdom in his ‘wax-on, wax-off’ philosophy. As co-founder of our photography ventures, I now see the light (no pun intended), and I understand.
All of my college classes were over and I was beaming with pride at my success. Grandpa looked at me, smiled and said: “Now forget everything you were taught. Today, you start learning how to a be real world professional photographer.” He hugged me tight, smiled, said congrats, adjusted his ‘Screamin Eagle’ baseball cap and walked off, just as I was smothered by my classmates.
He was absolutely right. What I learned in classrooms didn’t, and still doesn’t, actually apply to real world photography. You can only learn that by doing it yourself. College is more about theory or belief in doing something the same way, over and over and over. YUCK! We work outside of those little rule boxes and that makes for some awesome photography.
I’d already traveled the US and parts of Canada, flown to exotic places, photographed lots of people, places, things and so much more – when the other shoe dropped. One day, he’d come back from another trip and told everyone he was moving to live his life in tropical splendor – on an island – in the Pacific – my heart sank. I could literally feel it breaking. It was like experiencing those life altering moments on the Titanic first hand. I just wanted to die.
My head dropped, my eyes filled with tears and I started my slow, painful walk out of the room when like thunder, I heard: HEY! WHERE THE HELL DO THINK YOU’RE GOING? It was like a super magnet zapped me. I couldn’t move. I could only turn to face him. He slowly sauntered over to me, leaned in close to my ear and spoke these unforgettable words, clearly and softly: “Go pack your shit, we leave at the end of the week.”
AAHHH!! I was so furious with him for doing that to me, yet I threw my arms around his neck, I think he was gasping for air, and the tears of sadness flowing down my face weren’t about being sad, I wasn’t heartbroken anymore. I was officially going to become a professional photographer. I’d make my own income, move to a tropical island to live and work with my Grandpa, my mentor, teacher, best friend, protector and the only person I ever trusted.
He was always there to make me feel strong, important, successful, pick me up when I was down and never let me get away with anything. He’s always shown me how to help ME be myself and not lean on others in this life of joy and pain.
Now, I could lie to all of you, and say I’ve loved every minute of it, but I won’t insult you. Don’t get me wrong. I love my job, I love living here, I love photography, my Grandpa, the people, the food, the travel – almost everything. I just can’t stand the typhoons – I really, truly, hate them. Oh, and there’s NO studio building. DUH! it’s a TROPICAL ISLAND – HELLO!! And we actually DO make house calls.
I hope this gives each of you a glimpse of my real world life, before-n-after, becoming a photographer.
Please join all of us on MeWe. We are: Craig, Marley, Bart, Alisha, Kyla, ME! of course, and once-in-a-while, James. We think you’ll love it as much as we do. Be Safe Out There.
Alexa Shaw,
Professional Photographer
Saipan - Northern Mariana Islands
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2087
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