This week everyone is going Vero mad. Dubbed both the “new Instagram” and the “new Facebook” (I guess depending on what generation you’re coming from) – the sudden spike in interest in this social media app has seen it quickly jump to the top of Apple Store’s “Trending” list with over 1 million sign-ons to the platform.
But is it worth jumping on the bandwagon?
The short answer is “yes”. Not because we think it’s an amazing app that’s going to change the way you think social media (in fact, the more we’ve used it, the more we’re hating on it… but that’s mainly because of all the technical issues it’s currently facing due to a sudden influx of traffic) – but because we generally think it’s a pretty good idea to be involved with anything that just might take off. We all know the power of being an early adopter on a platform whether it be Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube… and now maybe Vero.
So what’s Vero all about and why the sudden interest?
Basically, Vero is a bit of a mish-mash between Instagram and Facebook. You can share photos like Instagram, as well as links, articles, songs etc – similar to Facebook. But what’s got people the most excited is there are no ads and no algorithms – meaning the chronological feed is alive and kicking on Vero. Can we hear a hallelujah?!
How do I use it?
Vero is pretty easy to use once you’ve had a little play around with it. Basically, when you go to create a post (just by clicking the ‘+’ symbol) – you’ll be asked whether you want to upload a “Camera”, “Link”, “Music”, “Movie/TV”, “Book” or “Place”. If you want to upload images (similar to Instagram), then you simply click on the “Camera” icon and then choose the relevant image. If you’d rather recommend articles, music, movies, tv shows, books, or places to visit (similar to Facebook and Twitter) – then you just click on those icons. Pretty simple, huh.
Your “Feed” will show any images or recommendations from your friends or the people you follow in chronological order. Like the good old days. *sigh*
If there are no ads, how are they going to make money?
While the powers at be at Vero have promised no ads – they’re not doing it all out of the goodness of their hearts. While the app is currently free to download, further down the track it will come with a subscription fee that sees users each paying a few dollars a year for the glory of using it. Vero previously stated that only the first 1 million users will have free access, but they have since changed this policy due to the afore-mentioned technical glitches.
Are there any negative outcomes for joining?
Well, I actually don’t think this is such a big deal – but apparently it’s a bit hard to delete your account once you’ve activated it. But… for those who want out just as quick as you got in – the method is to click on the question mark in your profile, then choose the option “Delete my account” found under the dropdown menu titled “Choose a Department”. Once that has been submitted, you have to wait and see if your request to leave is granted. So yes, not ideal – but not exactly a deal breaker either.
What could be more of a deal breaker is that its terms seem to suggest it owns anything posted on the app. But I’m actually not too sure how this differs from Facebook and Instagram as I feel like they pretty much also have ownership of anything that appears on there… Hmmmm… ??
Who’s on it?
As with all new social media apps – once you’ve downloaded them, you’ve then got to go hunting to discover people you want to follow. Below – we’ve take a look at some of our favourite influencers who have signed up for Vero accounts (and yes, we do realise a lot of these are travel accounts – what can we say, we’re big fans…):
- Belen Hostalet
- Hello Emilie
- Ben Savage
- Ain Raadik
- Emily Thomas
- Pia Mia
- Salma Slims
- Jason Charles-Hill
- Where We Adventure
- Andrea Ference
- Charlotte Little Wolf
- Christian Schaffer
- Andy To
- HB Mertz
- Callum Snape
- Lisa Hamilton
- Cait Miers
- The Fit Foodie Blog
- Oz Beauty Expert*
*The platform’s current bugs are making it incredibly hard to find people – but I’ll add to this list once Vero stops encountering “server errors” at every turn.
Do we think it will actually be the “next” Instagram or Facebook?
Call us cynics, but NO – we do not think this. As Tyler Glaiel tweeted: “Vero is just gonna be 1 million inactive accounts of people who signed up early ‘just in case’.” We think he’s probably right…
BUT what we are hoping all this achieves is that it makes Instagram realise that people REALLY ARE SERIOUS about the the fact they hate the algorithm. If more and more people cross over to Vero – then the social media giants will have to pay attention. And while they will probably continue to ignore the pleas for chronological ordering – at least it might give them a little food for thought.
What are your thoughts? Are you on Vero? Do you like it? What made you switch? Do you reckon you’re going to keep using it? And what’s your account?!
All images via Vero.
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Totally agree with everything said about this new app. I feel like I am signing up just because everyone else is right now. 😛
Think that’s probably what’s happening with the majority of users – but intrigued to see what the next few weeks brings when it comes to the app! x