We all live with the countless number of sponsored advertisements force-fed to us on social media. Ads are quite irritating for most of us. However, these ads are how these web applications generate revenue. Whether we like it or not, we have to deal with them frequently.
There is something interesting that is coming up for people who are fed up with ads. The co-founder of Wikipedia Jimmy Wales is working on a donation-based social media network called WT.Social. It will be free of ads and will be focused on the news. In this day and age where controversies are created by fake news, people are divided based on fake news, clickbaity titles are what we get in the name of journalism, mob lynching happens due to some fake WhatsApp forward; people feel that a platform like this was needed. No more agenda based news reporting but rather one guided by community contribution.
This site is completely independent of Wikipedia and solely runs on Wales’ investments along with the donations received. If you’re willing to support this platform then you too can donate. Unlike most platforms that collect data from you and use it to target ads to you, this platform does not collect your data.
What is WT.Social?
WT.Social looks like a combination of Facebook, Reddit and Wikipedia brought together. You can get news regarding your interest by subscribing to sub wikis which have a wide variety of topics ranging from “Computers” to “Dank Memes”. This site has basically got you covered with all the news you need depending on your interest.
The thing that makes this platform such a catch is that unlike most of the other platforms, you can edit any post on the platform. Be it published by you or someone else. There is a history log that shows the list of people who contributed to changes in the post. There is also an option to report spammers to ensure that misleading information will not be passed on the site.
The user interface of the site is pretty plain as it doesn’t have any attention-grabbing ads and the site is quite to the point. It might even be too plain for many people’s liking as it isn’t flashy by any means. However, for those of you who just want the information you need and don’t bother about other aspects of the site like an attractive user interface then it will suit you. As the platform was designed to focus on providing an improved discussion platform and effective information, it specializes in just that.
How to Get Access to the Site?
Due to the flooding of requests for a membership, the WT.Social team has created a waiting list for people interested to gain access to the site. Though, you can pay the donation fee ($13 a month/$100 a year) right away if you want to skip the waiting list and gain immediate access to the site.
The platform is currently limited to ‘website only‘ but a mobile app doesn’t look to be a prospect that far away. Wales has said that although his site may not gain high profits he hopes that it is able to generate enough finances to sustain itself. His team of 5 is currently working on expanding and acquiring more experts to cope with the massive traffic the site has been attracting.