“Unthink” Launches Revolution Site Against Facebook to the Public

Unthink.com, an “anti-facebook” site was launched yesterday. On it’s first day they allowed in the first round beta testers. According to TechCrunch, “The Tampa-based company with $2.5 million in funding from DouglasBay Capital sees itself as a more open, more honest form of social networking – one where its users are the owners of their data, and not the product being sold to advertisers.”

The new site’s background display has black and white photos from the Civil Rights Movement. Those interested can sign up to get their invitation codes. Once they are in, they will be allowed to use their data however they want and interact freely without the worries of their nosy neighbors, companies, or bosses using facebook to read profiles.

According to the International Business Times, “The main page is divided into three sections: your microblog(personal profile), your social section (friends), your lifestyle section (brands), and your professional section (business colleagues).” This way you can choose how you want to communicate with a certain person, brand, or business. Users will be given the option to choose which brand they want to endorse on their site. However, if they do not choose a brand they will have to pay a $2 annual fee.

It considers itself as “anti-facebook.” In fact, its goal is to defeat the huge 800 million plus social network site. CNET News stated that the site promised to give its users “an online hub that is free of ‘privacy issues,’ ‘endless redesigns,’ and user profiles vamping as ‘commercial junkyards,’ as well as allowing users to own their data and all their interactions on the site.” One can definitely see what site they are hoping to bring down. In fact, the hopes are not only to just challenge facebook, but other social media networking sites as well. The sites to be challenged LivingSocial, Google+, Twitter, and more.

It’s CEO, Natasha Dedis, was inspired to develop the site when her son wanted to join Facebook. She was surprised at  how easy it is for Facebook to constantly change their terms of service and guidelines and was shocked at the users’ casualness to the possibility of their privacy being lost. Thus Unthink was born, as the site was founded back in 2008 on Earthday. She wants users to be given the ability the own their data without fear of mistreatment of privacy and data protection rules. Facebook’s claims of users’ data privacies and ownership have yet to be proven.

According to CNET News, this week in Europe, “Facebook Ireland is under fire for allegedly violating data privacy laws and holding on to vast amounts of private messages, ‘pokes,’ and ‘unfriending’ activity that a user said he had deleted over the past three years.” That’s a lot of data to save for just one person. Imagine what else they may have saved for others.

But only time will tell whether Unthink will prove to be a challengeable opponent against its archenemies, Facebook. A true David versus Goliath story. Wonder what will prove to be the stone that takes down the giant.

Photos courtesy of facebook.svg via WikiCommons and Sean MacEntee and Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones via Flickr.