CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MEWE AHEAD

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MEWE AHEAD

I think I know the main problem of MeWe. It's Mark Weinstein. Everything about him. His strange obsession with Facebook, his insistence toward the Libertarian idea of free speech, and his awful business sense.

Mewe, while not completely original, is still a pretty cool concept. I like getting into groups to talk and chat about things that interests me because it's fun. This is what a social network should be about. This is the only reason why people join social networks, to have fun, talk, share pictures, etc.

And yet Mark Weinstein talks about everything BUT the fun aspects of MeWe. He'll talk about privacy, which is great but not a feature. He'll talk about Facebook's faults. He'll talk about MeWe Pro. He'll talk about custom emoji packs. He'll talk about being a free speech proponent (who cares). He'll talk about "the good guys". He'll talk about MeWe as if it's a revolution (LOL). He'll talk about Libertarian politics (which is never cool).

He'll talk about everything but what MeWe is: a group based chat service. A group based chat service sounds like it could be neat if they put a unique spin on it. But they're too busy finding their niche in things that aren't social network related.

And there's a lack of focus when it comes to what MeWe is trying to be. It's supposed to be a cool social network. But sometimes it seems like the anti-Facebook revolution, which is laughable. Then it'll sound like a cult of personality around Libertarian free speech proponent Mark Weinstein, which is annoying. Or it'll sound like the new website for privacy, which sounds shady when you consider who's on there doing god knows what. But it's about many different things that MeWe the service isn't.

Why is this? Because Mark Weinstein probably doesn't understand MeWe, or the product he's pitching. He seems like the out of touch CEO who doesn't quite know what the kids want nowadays, but he knows they don't like Facebook. So he joins the bash Facebook hype train.

That explains why he criticizes Facebook every chance he gets. Mark Weinstein most likely doesn't work on the backend of the website, which would explain why he doesn't talk about the features as much as he talk about the "crimes" of Facebook. This puts him at a big marketing disadvantage.

Think back to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, etc. The CEOs were programmers. They knew the product they were marketing. So when they spoke about a new feature, it's because they worked on it personally. When Mark Weinstein speaks about a new feature, it's almost painfully obvious he doesn't quite grasp the implications of it. It's evident he has no idea why it would appeal to users. He has no idea of what's good about MeWe or what it has to offer. So he has to sell MeWe in other ways.

When Mark Weinstein talks, it's about how awful Facebook is. He talks about privacy and free speech. He talks about everything EXCEPT what makes MeWe great. It's almost as if he doesn't know, and I don't think he does.

He exudes this lack of confidence in his product, because he doesn't know what to make of it, or how it can be great. He doesn't know its true potential. So he has to talk about everything else. Anything else to make you want to join. Not by its merits, but by slogans and backtalk. He has to convince you that Facebook is the devil and MeWe is your savior because his understanding of what MeWe can do for you is just that shallow.

Also think back to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, etc. They never resorted to criticizing their competition. Twitter never said "don't go to Facebook, Facebook is BS". Tumblr never said "we're for the good guys, and we're not for sale".

Even Facebook didn't constantly harp on MySpace. They spoke about what they were doing, new announcements and features they wanted to add, and kept it positive. Mark Weinstein could take a lot from Facebook on this front. Look at Facebook's Twitter account. Now look at MeWe's. The tone is different, and one is certainly more off putting.

Plus, Mark Weinstein has terrible business sense. He's letting his misunderstanding of free speech dictate MeWe's direction. For example, in America especially, free speech simply means you can't be jailed, harmed, censored or sued for your opinions. That's it. It's doesn't mean that we must be forced to tolerant objectionable ideas. You're not entitled to an audience of a platform.

And yet, this is what Mark wants us to do on MeWe, be tolerant of Nazis while giving them a platform. Mark apparently needs all of the members to his site that he can get, which is why MeWe hasn't banned them yet. But I guess Mark sweeps trash under the rug and calls the room clean at the end of the day.

And this is why his business sense is so atrocious. Nazis and white supremacists are a small, unprofitable sector. They aren't going to buy anything, and they are driving away people who might. Every business knows that loud, disruptive loiters who don't buy need to leave so they don't disturb the other paying customers. They can have their "free speech" elsewhere, as it isn't the concern of a reputable business. Why is MeWe making it their concern? Because they could become paying customers?

MeWe only begs the question: why is free speech to Nazis Mewe's job?

As a side note, when Mark Weinstein says MeWe is for "the good guys" and refuses to get rid of Nazis, does that mean someone at MeWe thinks the Nazis are the good guys?

MeWe is cool. But Mark Weinstein isn't. This might be salvageable if Mark were a pitch man, but he's the CEO. He's making conscious decisions to run his project into the ground before it takes off. For that, I wish Mark Weinstein were only an adviser for privacy.

My advice to Mark Weinstein, do a 180. Stop following the "bash Facebook" hype train. It's topical, but shortsighted and unsustainable.