Vero: New Social Media

[Pepper-Head]

Has anyone joined the new social media, Vero? It's currently app-only, but you can view some information on their website: https://www.vero.co

It's being called "the new Instagram" and has a really promising call of no ads, no algorithms. This means content will display in chronological order instead of being shown based on popularity and what the app thinks you'd like to see! You can even set up to three different avatars and very easily post your content for only close friends, friends, acquaintances, or followers to see.

The first million or so accounts are free forever and future accounts will have to pay a subscription fee.  However, due to the amount of traffic, certain parts of the app are really slow or just not working.

Do you have a Vero? What are your thoughts on it?

(Also feel free to follow me and I'll add you back! I'm Pepperish Studio)

[Morgan]

I got one and am enjoying it so far. I've only posted one thing, but compared to other apps I post on it did far better.

The problems are causing a lot of people to jump ship already, but yesterday it worked better for me than since I downloaded it. It is definitely having severe growing pains right now, but I feel like it can safely be said it is due to the massive influx of new users it has had recently.

I'm willing to stick it out for a bit even if it is just to have a normal timeline again. I'm also hoping the eventual subscription method will deter some bot use and develop an actual community.

(Followed you by the way, username is just Morgan )

[ilrak]

It looks interesting! I just joined under Auratus Ghoti (not comfortable joining under my full name haha)

[WinterBlues]

I got it recently too. Found a few bugs, still trying to get used to it but it could be useful for connecting to others I suppose! I should just be Ellie Cooper on there, but not sure how it all works at the moment with usernames. 

[Pepper-Head]

Added all three of you!

@WinterBlues - I think it's more like Facebook, where you can have multiple of the same name existing. It's also incredibly easy to change your name on there.

[Angel]

Eh, "no algorithms"? So basically these guys saved a ton of resources for not coding and supporting smart neural networks, essentially getting back to the state of 2000s when first poorly usable and wonky social networks were only developing? And they call that a feature and try to market it as their main advantage? No, thanks. 

[Makazu]

Algorithms are great for casual use, but many folks really just want to see things in order. I bet it's a big selling point for many -- though, like anything, it's not for everyone.

[Pepper-Head]

I miss so much content (and my own posts are missed by many) thanks to algorithms that favor posts that can get the most attention shortly after it is posted. I think the biggest frustration here is when sites keep tweaking their algorithms to make it harder and harder to get seen.

It'll be interesting to see how Vero works at least, and at no cost right now  I haven't gotten around to posting much, but I know some friends have had some success getting genuine followers so far.

[Angel]

Actually all of the generic networks I use show posts in historical order, and there's a whole heap of them. I don't see where this problem comes from. Instagram? Drop it, it never had anything useful. It's designed to be a useless bunch of selfies from the very start, it's not even technically possible to spread almost all types of useful info through it. But it's rather an exclusion than a rule. I also don't see why would you need a historical order on an image sharing service. I use Pinterest a lot, and this feature would kill it.
Also seeing things in order doesn't mean no algorithms in any way. I guess Vero promoters redefined "algorithms" to give it a very strict and negative meaning (filtering posts to show paid first) which is not what this word means at all.

[Makazu]

Facebook, the largest social network in existence is the place you hear the biggest gripes. Twitter does it a bit too, but they have a discovery problem.

[Angel]

Did you try switching the ordering in your newsfeed from Top Stories to Most Recent? It sorts posts in the historical order. Yes, FB does incorporate ads in between, but they don't alter the ordering of the posts itself, and can be easily removed with lightweight adblockers.

I will laugh if the whole marketing point of Vero is for these two clicks that turn FB into a historically ordered newsfeed with no ads...

Edited March 4, 2018 by Angel

[Makazu]

Sorry, I must have given the impression that it was a problem for me. It's not. I know how to find what I want on FB (including changing the order of posts -- which don't actually stick btw, which is another complaint folks have). I haven't found much I like so far on Vero other than the interface, simply explaining why folks don't like algorithmic timelines since that was the discussion.

 

Have you tried Vero?

[Pepper-Head]

On Twitter I have "Show Best Tweets First", "Quality Filter", and "Personalization and Data" turned off - all features described as showing better content tailored to your interests. Those options are spread throughout settings, not sure if I'm missing another one that's still making it to where I miss so many posts, even when I fully catch up on my feed each day. 

As far as art on social media is concerned, I respectfully disagree that Instagram isn't useful. I know many who get commissions frequently there (way more than their other social medias), and for the pro illustration world, many employers will find artists from IG rather than making a job listing or searching through agencies. 

I understand how algorithms can make feeds more clean, appealing, and engaging - but Vero is trying to be a solution for a problem many are having, so I'm willing to give it a shot. If it is truly a failure - perhaps it can tweak things, or put pressure on other social media sites to offer an alternative option to satisfy this demand, or at least the next up and coming social media giant can learn from this and make something better.

[Angel]

Weird but Twitter worked for me as a historical timeline by default. Though I actually used it only one time for a few months when first a revolution and then a war started in my country. It was my main source of info with a few seconds accuracy. It was crucial to have exact info delivered instantly without reordering, and it worked perfectly. Maybe they have changed something for the last two years? If so, I guess I know why their popularity has declined. Twitter would be pretty much useless if you can't get the news instantly.

Instagram isn't a network where professionals find professional artists. Behance, ArtStation, LinkedIn and other dedicated social networks are.  Instagram even doesn't provide tools to create a user-friendly portfolio (a photo album with photos in popups is the worst solution ever for this) or a system to make portfolios easily sortable and findable. You can get a lot of low segment amateur-ish orders there, but getting a nice position or a large order is something that may happen only due to a big luck and not because someone was searching Instagram for a professional like you intentionally. 

[kami]

I honestly don't know one professional artist (and I mean Western comic artists, mangakas, video game artists, etc) that /don't/ have an Instagram. I've searched up random professionals online and often the first link that comes up is their Instagram. I'm also always hearing stories about how artists have gotten jobs from Twitter, FB, Instagram, etc. Social media is a huge deal in our world nowadays, and companies realize that. Not only are they using it to look at their potential applicants to see if you're a safe hire, they're finding new employees through it. And why not? It's so easy now. You can have thousands of potential artists for hire at your fingertips.

Deviantart, eh, that's another story HAHA. But I've seen some pros on there too, but not nearly as many.

I'm curious to see how this Vero thing will turn out. I think it's okay so far, but with so many social medias to juggle already, it's difficult to give it the time to really get a feeling for it. I mean, why not have another competitor? That's what helps the other companies grow. YouTube Gaming only came about because of Twitch. So who knows, maybe Vero will send some ripples too?

[Angel]

@kami

Having an Instagram account and getting orders through it are very different things  Each of the industry professionals have at least a dozen or two of social profiles everywhere including top 3 social networks.

I'm a little biased because I have info only for gamedev industry, but headhunters in gamedev don't use generic social networks with ui which doesn't allow to represent your portfolio, employment status, working history and other things like that easily. This is the area where proposal exceeds demand for a few years already, and recruiters don't need to dig the professionals out of the piles of unrelated data. 

Try asking those big fishes you listed where they get the work that nets them cash. I bet this won't be Instagram, Facebook or Twitter

Edited March 7, 2018 by Angel

[kami]

@Angel 

Well, no one hires right off the bat from randomly finding someone online. Social media is just an opportunity to be discovered, then things can go from there.

I don't need to ask, I've seen several posts on Twitter of people mentioning it. Though that in particular was back when the whole "how fanart got me hired" thing was trending. Feel free to Google search to read some stories, there are a lot of really cute ones  

Also sorry for the delayed reply, this forum didn't email me about your response D:

[Elm]

Although I have limited experience Game Dev recruiting, I do know that illustration Art Directors regularly look at instagram. Of course, they are more likely to look for a contact link or email on the instagram profile and contact them through there. DMs are a lot more clunky. 

In terms of the experience I do have with Game Dev, I do know that while portfolios are looked at. It is definitely up to the Art Director's personal taste. Some believe that Artstation or a well curated Instagram is perfectly fine, and fits the role of a portfolio, whereas others will definitely prefer a personal website. 

For an artist that is looking for regular contract work, and is not an inhouse fulltime artist. Social Media is a very important factor. Especially for those that aren't currently well known amongst existing Art Directors. 

That being said, I will definitely be waiting for Vero to come out of Beta and see what happens to it. I have made a few connections on there, with people who I may have not been noticed by had I simply followed them as normal on their Facebook or Instagram.