Unthink: The anti-Facebook social network?

Seven years after the launch of social networking juggernaut Facebook, a new social media platform calling itself the "anti-Facebook" is in the works. Unthink (www.unthink.com) claims to be an all-in-one social platform that lets members connect and collaborate to change the world. "Our mission is to emancipate social media and unleash people’s extraordinary potential. Our -not so covert- mission is to spark a revolution that will change the world," it said. The new network, which was founded on April 22, 2008, opened its doors to the first batch of beta testers. Unthink first announced its existence by challenging what it called the unfair and deceptive business model used by Facebook, Google+ and all existing social networking media platforms. It said these platforms ensnare users with the "illusion of free" and then subject them to abusive practices as they seek to make money on their users’ backs. Tech site TechCrunch said the Tampa-based company has $2.5 million in funding from DouglasBay Capital and sees itself as a more open and "honest" form of social networking, where its users are the owners of their data, and not the product being sold to advertisers. Unthink also said it is not another social network, but a social revolution. “If we want to be free, we have to control our own communications…we have to claim that power," CEO Natasha Dedis shouted to a crowd at September’s Tampa Bay Barcamp (the un-conference), TechCrunch reported. Facebook experience TechCrunch quoted Dedis as saying the idea for Unthink came to her when her son wanted to sign up for Facebook and she read the terms of service. She said the terms were not something she wanted to agree to because they could change at any time, but her son was anxious. “He was really stressed about it, like he didn’t have a choice – he had to be on Facebook," she said. She said Facebook's using personal data, posts and likes to feed advertisers feels exploitive. “The number one thing that had to be ‘un-thought’ about social media, is who does it belong to? We need to own everything that we put on our page. We can be as private or as public as we want, as long as it’s our choice," she said. On Unthink, user data is not sold to brands but users choose a brand to sponsor their page, by way of an ad dubbed “iEndorse." The idea is that a user will select a brand they feel some affinity with, and will then become an advocate for that brand. Users who do not want to select a brand have the option to pay for the service instead ($2/year). Those who sign up for Unthink are offered an app that will export their photos and videos from Facebook. "You’re also asked to fill out the standard social networking questions (name, date of birth, gender, etc.) and are then directed to your own personal profile page," TechCrunch said. These pages are split into sections, each with a dedicated purpose and easy-to-customize privacy controls. — TJD, GMA News