The OpenBook want to be a true competitor of the social network giant Facebook which will be free of advertising and tracking, connecting people without endangering the privacy. The project is supported by Philip Zimmermann, creator of PGP, a well-known e-mail encryption software. The new social network was designed by Joel Hernandez, a cybersecurity engineer. He promises “open source, zero tracking, zero espionage, zero ads,” according to the Financial Times, and will donate 30% of the revenue to the charity. Openbook aims to make money with “physical and digital goods transactions within the network” as a marketplace; and helping other companies create internal, self-hosted social networks with additional features. Other alternatives also tried to compete with Facebook, but eventually fell into oblivion. Hernandez hopes to attract users by offering a tool to migrate photos, videos, and conversations. This is possible thanks to the GDPR, European Union law that requires data portability. Openbook is raising money through a Kickstarter campaign. This crowdfunding will only receive the money if it reaches the initial goal of $100 thousand. Currently, it is at just over $17,019; the deadline is until mid-August. It’s not an explosive start, especially since many users prefer to stay on Facebook. There are 2.2 billion people accessing the social network every month, and the number continues to rise – despite campaigns such as #deletefacebook.
However, the honest, open-source and awesome social network, of course, Openbook plans to release its first alpha release in March 2019. So, what do you think about this? Simply share all your views and thoughts in the comment section below.
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