A society turned inwards
Society has been obsessed with going more and more “social” ever since Facebook launched back in 2004. And since the birth of social media, new networks have continued to pop up at an alarming rate, giving people the perfect place to interact, communicate, leave comments, and judge accordingly.
But what about an anti-social network? Enter Ponder, a platform that describes itself as the only network where there are “no trolls, bullying or negativity. Just cool photos and videos.” People are tired of the popularity contests that have taken over Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and every other well-known social site.
In opposition to what we’ve grown accustomed to, Ponder does not allow comments on photos or videos, and users aren’t able to see how many followers an account has.
In a public statement co-founder and CEO of Ponder, William LeGate, says that “We are democratizing the discovery and distribution of your photos and videos, so instead of it being a popularity contest, it’s a place where the best content spreads.”
Obvious question – how does it work?
After signing up, users are presented with a stream of photos and videos; by swiping up on someone’s post, you are helping to push on to a wider audience, usually to people with similar interests as you. Swiping down on a post keeps it private; you may not be a fan of the picture or video but all you do on Ponder is “pass” by it, no mean comments or bullying allowed. If you swipe the wrong direction, just shake your phone and Ponder will undo your last action.
In addition, if you double tap on a post you’ll automatically start following the poster. Your newsfeed, or photo stream, will become more personalized with each uploader you follow, and with each post you push or pass on.
To upload your own posts, you can import photos from your phone’s photo album, or snap a fresh pic with the app’s camera.
Growing pains
The Ponder app just launched in the spring, so it does still have a few glitches that need to be worked out. When you first sign up for the “anti-social network,” the same reminders pop up over and over again, right when you’re trying to get into the groove of passing and pushing on photos. In addition, the newsfeed itself seems to have some bugs; this Ponder-er has received an error message reading “An Unknown Error Has Occurred, Reload,” so many times she finally just logged out and gave up.
If you’re looking for a judgement-free alternative to Instagram, Ponder is the place for you to start posting. Upload photos that will be pushed for quality of their content, instead of how many comments or “likes” they receive.
