social networks While Hive Social has been skyrocketing for several weeks, this new social network is far from perfect
The Hive app was founded in 2019 — Hive Social screenshot
- Between massive layoffs, job loss advertisers and reduction of moderation, the future of Twitter has become very uncertain since the takeover of the social network by Elon Musk.
- Faced with chaos, some users are already turning to other social networks, such as LinkedIn, Discord, Mastodon.
- Others have chosen Hive Social, a social network halfway between Instagram, Facebook and MySpace.
As Twitter continues its descent into hell, competing social networks fight each other, so Everyone wants to take their place. If the names of Mastodon or Discord are regularly cited as the possible heirs of the firm at the time. l’l’l’l’s blue bird, a new kid on the block could well pull off the game. It’s about Hive Social, a platform presented as free and inclusive, which has been gaining momentum for a few weeks.
It’s in October 2019 that the American influencer Raluca Pop, also called Kassandra Pop, tired of algorithms, advertisements and restrictions on Twitter and Instagram, imagined this new generation social network. generation. After several months of work, the young woman, a student at At this time, launches the application in June 2019 with the help of a developer.
A “safe space”
And it’s visibly succeeded, according to Teen Vogue magazine, which featured Hive as a platform that “combines the beloved features of Instagram and Twitter, with a dash of MySpace nostalgia”. Internet users can publish, share or like statuses, subscribe to; other people, insert photos or videos, respond to questions or join themed communities. But they can also associate a music to; their profile, which launches automatically when you visit the page… like MySpace did at at the time.
Billing itself as a “safe space” on security and inclusiveness to seduce its users. When creating their profile, they can choose one or more pronouns to describe themselves, configure certain options so as not to automatically display images received in private messages; or NSFW (Not Safe For Work) content, i.e. content with sexuality, not all of which are prohibited on the platform.
However, there is no question of automatically censoring nudity, as Instagram has done at the time. an era. In its charter, Hive Social explains that “nude images that are inherently artistic or creative” may be published, at provided that the mention NSFW appears. A statement that will allow this content to be blocked for underage users.
One million users
Another weighty argument could convince the most reluctant. Unlike Instagram, Hive does not use a sorting algorithm, posts are simply displayed in chronological order. Another big difference is that monetization is not based on advertising content, but on the purchase of “blocks” additional music: $0.99 for the second, $1.99 for the third or fourth.
Criteria that have visibly appealed to Internet users . On November 21, they were more than a million to use Hive Social, a figure that exploded within weeks, the social network reported… on his Twitter account.
1,000,000 Besties and the number keeps climbing! 🫶🌈🔥Thank you to everyone who has followed us, joined, shared their Hive posts and profiles, invested in our WeFunder, and overall just given us such an incredible amount of support! 🥹🐝💛 pic.twitter.com/3IOliTf647
— Hive (@TheHIVE_Social)
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We say thank you who? If Hive Social has no reason to thank Jacquie and Michel (of course you have), it’s here. Twitter to shake hands with. Since the arrival of Elon Musk, the Californian company has been going through a zone of turbulence. An agitation that took advantage of to all its competitors, including Hive Social, which benefited from of the exodus of some Twitter users. And for good reason, the personality divisive and Elon Musk’s positions have a lot to do with it. Some users, unhappy, left the social network after the announcement of the creation of a subscription to; $8, “Twitter Blue” anyone to get their account certified. Others fear a rise in hate speech on the platform. Among the employees laid off at the arrival of Elon Musk includes a large part of the moderation teams, raising fears of a drop in controls.
A social network still under construction
But this very young social network is still under construction. As a result, many bugs have been fixed. reported by users. First of all, it is only accessible on smartphone, under iOS or Android, but not yet on the Web, a critical lack; by some users. The app also has security issues. and data protection. The identification to two factors, which consists of secure access to his account with a second code in addition to the password, does not exist on Hive Social. Then, to share photos, the app asks for full access. your library, leading to a significant risk of piracy.
Another problem is that private messages are not end-to-end encrypted, exposing users to potential hack. “The trend is towards encryption everywhere: Signal and WhatsApp have it by default. And at In the long term, Messenger, Instagram or even Twitter are on this trajectory,” to the app. At the beginning of November, users encountered problems logging in or creating an account. For some, it was impossible to create an account, for others, they were surprised to discover identifiers identical to theirs. On November 19, 2022, the company also admitted that people were “forced into the system (…) and used the system. a roundabout way to enter.
Hive Social already has; promised changes to improve security; and the protection of the data of its users. But these updates day ask for money. When the project was launched, the founder, Raluca Pop, had contracted; two personal loans, before receiving $25,000 from an investor, she explained. to Newsweek. To be able to operate, the platform has also launched; a crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder, which has already harvested over $300,000.