MeWe CEO Jeffrey Scott Edell argues that it’s hard to put paying subscribers first when you don’t respect their privacy and keep serving them conflicts.
gettyimages
Controversy sells. For a long time, there was no place where this was more true than on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
gettyimages
Controversy and conflict make you click, comment, and create the data about yourself that is used to sell ads. Every day, it becomes more and more apparent that the intertwined model of conflict, privacy violations, and ad revenue is unsustainable for the companies that own and operate these networks.
gettyimages
It’s a lesson Twitter needs to learn as it finds itself deeply exposed and in danger of collapsing. While Elon Musk’s flirtation with a subscription-based revenue model is part of the solution, it misses the point.
gettyimages
Technology and social media companies with a subscription model create products and services for the benefit of the subscriber. It’s no surprise that privacy is one of the benefits most people expect.
gettyimages
These privacy concerns have prompted Apple and policymakers to limit how social media companies track and use user data. While Meta, Twitter and Snap have cut thousands of jobs and Meta has lost two-thirds of its value, platforms that don’t rely on user data to sell ads can protect user privacy without threatening core the businesses.
gettyimages
When platforms adopt a subscription model, they are no longer incentivized to act as conflict vendors and contention traders.
gettyimages