I’ve been sharing photos and stories with friends and family for over 12 years. In the early days I a utilized mail distribution list and a Google forum as a means to accomplish this task. I promoted Google communities as the ultimate sharing platform. It has security, search capabilities, privacy and flexibility. I managed to get 69 family members to sign up. Then Google announced that it will be dropping support in 2019.  My sister is already getting 404 messages (page not found) when she tries to access it. I am crestfallen.

The majority of my friends and family use Facebook as a way to connect with each other. I reluctantly joined. One Saturday a patron at the Green Center asked if the town had a Facebook group. I created one which has grown to over 4,000 users. Facebook is wildly successful. Facebook is a monopoly, it has no competition. Facebook is free which means that the users are the product.

Is there an alternative to Mark Zuckerberg’s evil spawn? I didn’t see any till now. I signed up with MeWe which seems to have a different business model. It is free but offers services for a fee rather than using advertising. I like the look of it and have already created a Friend and Family Group.

The challenge for any competitor is getting past the “Everyone I know is already using Facebook”. I have another problem. I manage several pages and groups. I can’t leave completely in spite of my posting title. I need to walk away about 90%. Someone who didn’t like my moderating style told me to “get a life” because I wouldn’t let them add any comment they liked to one of my groups. I have a life and a new home. Come visit and say hello. I’m also looking at another project called Openbook.