Goodbye Facebook. Hello, Slyde.
Just under two months ago we launched Slyde. And in no short form, I’d like to tell you all about it.
Slyde started as a simple idea years ago that some friends and I have now developed into something people actually want to use. We were the generation that saw the beginnings of social media and have seen it grow into what it is today. Like many others, there are a lot of things we enjoy about social media, however we saw a few things that we thought we could make better.
You can check out Slyde for yourself at slyde.network or on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store as “Slyde Social”.
Social media is obviously not the same as it was back in 2005. In today’s world it’s almost unconventional if you are someone that does not have a social media account. I, for one, am a part of the masses that is on multiple social networks; Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. However, when it came to Facebook my friends and I realized that the very reason we all still had an account was the same reason none of us ever posted on it. Everyone we knew was on it. Parents, coworkers, random high school acquaintances we haven’t seen let alone talked to since we were actually in high school. We’ve all grown up. Facebook has not. Thus, Slyde began to come alive.
What is Slyde?
We did not build Slyde to compliment Facebook, we built Slyde with the intent to replace Facebook. Unlike Facebook, Slyde is a privacy focused general social network that puts its users first. You categorize your connections based on who they are to you (friends, family, co-workers/classmates, or public acquaintances), putting you back in control of what you post on your social media as well as who sees it. You can also anonymously like and dislike posts, implement different personal customizations to your profiles, and even create your own channels and portals or follow ones created by your favorite influencers.
Four Personas, One You
Slyde makes it easy to connect with everyone in your life, while still maintaining separation with each relationship. We made the succinct and reasonable assumption that your connections fall into four specific categories; friends, family, work and public. When you connect with someone you decide who they are to you by placing them in one or more of these categories, and from then on they will only see what you want them to see. Nobody will know who they are to one another.
We wanted this separation of connections because as individuals we aren’t the same person to everybody everywhere. How we act and communicate with friends is inherently different than how we interact with our family.
We found that people want to stay connected with everyone, but they don’t necessarily want to share every thing with everyone they’re connected to.
Other networks have tried this method; Facebook Groups, Google Circles. The main problem both of these ideas had was their execution. Facebook Groups allows you to make smaller niche communities, however you have to create each group, go through your entire friends list and individually put people into different groups, it’s too much work. Google Circles had the right kind of idea, but their ultimate demise came because they gave people too many options. By the time you were done dividing everyone up into different circles there were too many circles to keep track of. It was messy and complicated and it just didn’t work.
Slyde’s solution was to keep it simple. Only provide four groups and make the organization process happen right when you connect with someone. It’s an easy and clean process that gives users that separation and privacy they want, without all the extra work.
Customizing Your Profile
We all put on different hats for different people, and we all have more than just one side to our personality (which is something that current social networks fail to showcase). The freedom of self expression is an essential feature Slyde offers. We integrated multiple profile customizations you can use to make your social media about you again. Instead of the traditional white with a hint of blue feed, Slyde lets you set whatever color you want to your profile.
You can also create a tagline, change your profile picture for each persona, and my personal favorite, set a theme song. It’s a creative way to get to know a little bit more about someone’s personality, simply by seeing them within your feed.
Giving Users Their Voice Back
In a digital economy that uses likes as currency, there’s no room for disapproval.
Ironically, something that is lacking on current social media platforms, aside from personality, is each user having a voice. One of the original purposes of social networks was for each user to have the ability to communicate with others and express how they’re feeling, but today’s online world has been completely encapsulated by the echo chamber that is Facebook.
The majority of people on social media have fallen silent to the voices of very few in fear of reticule and confrontation. In a digital economy that uses likes as currency, there’s no room for disapproval. People aren’t able to express how they feel or disagree with something without starting a comment war where all keyboards are pointed at them.
Slyde gives every user a voice by allowing them to anonymously like and dislike posts. No one except the person who’s post you voted on will be able to see if you liked it, and no one will ever see what you dislike. Although one could be forgiven for assuming giving people a voice of disapproval would result in more negativity, we’ve actually seen a marked increase in positivity.
Channels and Portals
Social networking is inherently about community. Slyde created channels and portals as a way for like minded people to share posts and discussions around their common interests, as well as to provide an opportunity for businesses and organizations to connect with the rest of the general public. You can also join these communities anonymously if they allow it. You should be able to divulge into your interests without your entire social circle knowing. However, you can still join and create channels and portals for friends, family, with your professional profile or otherwise.
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2020 has been one challenge after another for all of us. Making it worse has been the divisive and polarizing nature of today’s social media. We built Slyde because things need to change. Social media needs to get back to focusing on what’s important; its users. We as a society have outgrown Facebook and Slyde intends on being the social network people delete Facebook for. The world needs a fresh start, and that fresh start begins at Slyde’s sign in page.
