Social media is an omnipresent part of modern life and is essential for both socializing and networking in the social landscape of today. However, strict regulations, privacy rules and cancel culture have made platforms such as Twitter and Facebook problematic. New social media alternatives such as Mastodon, Gab and Gettr have attempted to step in with new approaches, but each platform has faced some serious pitfalls.
Enter Sayches – an online microblogging social media platform that focuses on freedom of speech, ephemeral content and anonymity. You might be wondering what makes Sayches stand out from the rest of these social networks – we’re going to be answering this and more, so read on to find out.
Sayches Vs. Mastodon: Abolishing Echo Chambers
Mastodon is a decentralized social media platform that claims to create safe spaces for communities to discuss issues and express opinions. Whilst the platform does present a microblogging alternative to the censorship nightmare that is Twitter, it has taken a very different approach by siloing each community into segregated communities. Whilst this certainly reduces friction on the platform, it completely defeats the point of ‘social’ networks, with users only being able to socialize within a chatroom-like social bubble.
However, there is an even larger problem at play – Mastodon is based around the federated communication protocol ActivityPub, a heinously inefficient system with bad security and expensive operation fees. Whilst the open-source nature of federation networks come with good intentions, this also, unfortunately, results in the network requires an extensive understanding of computer science including server management experience. Ultimately, this makes it difficult for the average social media to use a platform such as Mastodon, yet again moving the platform away from being particularly ‘social’.
Sayches presents another microblogging alternative to Twitter, but without the decentralized approach. The company believe that the issues found in social media giants today should never be solved in a way that segregates communities, compromises accessibility or restricts the average person from socializing on the service.
Sayches Vs. Gettr: Acting Against Bias and Corruption
With many Facebook and Twitter users being banned due to controversial opinions, many people have sought refuge in social media platforms that facilitate the free flow of information online, without compromise. Both Gettr and Sayches claim to promote free speech, but with Gab there is a catch – the platform is run by the former Donald Trump spokesman Jason Miller and targeted specifically towards American conservatives.
Whilst Sayches certainly allows for political conversation and provides a safe haven for politicians to express their thoughts without repercussions, the platform prides itself in being unbiased, and being run by politicians has huge potential for bias. The world of politics is full of corruption, so Gettr presents a serious problem – how can users trust the information on the site when politicians could use it to push their agenda?
Sayches Vs. Gab: Protecting Data, Privacy and Security
Anonymity and security of personal data are essential in solving the modern issues of social media, and this is something that Gab claimed to solve. However, this was quickly proven wrong when tens of thousands of email addresses and other user data points were leaked in mid-2021. How can a website guarantee the abolishment of cancel culture and guarantee freedom of speech with such fragile data infrastructure?
Sayches has designed its entire platform to ensure that personal data breaches are an impossibility. By allowing users to post anonymously and even access the platform through the ultra-secure Tor Network, users can guarantee the security of their data, even in the event of the network being hacked.
Final Thoughts
Whilst it’s great to see a variety of new social media platforms arising to tackle issues of censorship, freedom of speech and privacy, existing platforms such as Mastodon, Gab and Gettr have a long way to go. However, Sayches presents itself as a social network that recognizes these pitfalls and aims to solve them. Whilst the platform is still young and only in beta testing stages, the infrastructural design of the site makes it clear that user privacy and freedom of speech will be protected, whilst approaching the network from an open and un-siloed approach.