Social networks have become the boon of advertisers everywhere! The more ads they can deliver while you share your cat photos, dinner recipes and car care tips, the more money they make. Businesses have discovered that if they move on to various Social Media websites, they can better engage with their customers and clients as well. Artists, brands, stores, etc have all found homes on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
But where does that leave the average user?
People have begun asking that question over the past few years. One answer got Facebook tied in knots earlier in 2015 and it briefly prevented the site’s links from being displayed by users seeking to share their sign-up referral links. That website is Tsu.co. Tsu has gone through changes over the past year, refining how it works, adding features, removing features and recently going through a major site redesign as of March 2016. On Tsu, users get paid a portion of the advertising revenue as they interact with what other users have shared. Tsu has what they call a Family Tree that keeps track of referrals, friends, and followers. Their use of hashtags to make content more searchable has been sporadic in how it is implemented. At one time, you could include hashtags in the body of your message, then it moved to the title of your message, and now it seems to be back to the body, although I’m not entirely sure of that fact.
Another answer called themselves the pioneers of “Networthing”, a word coined by the site owner to describe users earning points and cash. This site is Sqeeqee.com. There, you earn cash for setting up a store, selling high-quality photos, and other means. You earn points for use in their system by your interaction with others, and after amassing enough points, they can be exchanged for cash. Sqeeqee offers a wide variety of features from crowdfunding to personal storefronts to video sharing etc. The more people you let into your friends list, the higher the chances your content will generate traffic. Users on Sqeeqee for the most part are very encouraging. You will run into the odd person commenting for the sole purpose to earn points, but others actually do interact with your content legitimately.
The most recent answer to the value question posed above, is FutureNet. I just signed up to check it out and it has two very distinct aspects to the site. First, the social network side is reasonably thought out. Unlike the other two sites just discussed, FutureNet actually lets you create a fan page for your pursuit whether that’s a business, writing, singing, or puppies, you can create a fan page for it just as you can on Facebook or LinkedIn. The interface is actually fairly similar to that of Facebook’s, complete with cover photos, friends lists, groups, the ability to add a youtube video or blog post with just a link and have the featured image show up without a problem. The second aspect of this business is quite prominent in the left hand sidebar, because FutureNet anticipates that you’ll actually want to turn this social network into a business for yourself and those you bring to the network. If you don’t already have a blog, $5 will get you a blog on their site. If you want to create a landing page for the site, that’s another $5. Training videos, webinars, and events get planned periodically. Their advertising system is a revshare and a single investment of the amount of your choice (lowest is $10) will get you into the business side of the site. I haven’t invested yet, as I’m still playing with the system, but they encourage downline support, so my “sponsor” has already contacted me to make sure I have the information I’ll need to launch out. One could however, simply join this site for the social aspect if they were wanting something different than what Facebook or LinkedIn have to offer.
It will be interesting to watch these three “social networthing” sites over the next few years to see what pans out, who stays, who goes, and who ends up paying out the most to their users on a regular basis.
