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P O R T R A I T P H O T O G R A P H Y R E T R E A T S
HO M E TES TIM O NIA L S THE TEA C HER FA Q S BL O G C O NTA C T
R ETR EATS
Fleeing Instagram To VERO
There's a strongly photography-oriented
social media platform where you don't
have to worry about satisfying the
algorithm, where there's no advertising
and there are features that photographers
really like. And then there's an innovation I
can be proud of, because...
Until recently, VERO was a semi-unknown app. Now, thanks to users who are disappointed with Instagram's
latest changes, it's on everyone's lips and has about 6 million users. This is still far behind Instagram (1.4
billion users), but there are many reasons for its growing success. One is that there is no advertising. Also,
it has a number of things that Instagram lacks.
Is VERO the new social media app for photographers?
Many photographers who feel frustrated by Meta's social media changes have migrated to VERO or, at the
very least, opened an account and are experiencing a completely different environment. They are finding
that the platform offers many features that Instagram lacks and doesn't have the limitations that are causing
so much discontent. Here are a few examples:
• Instagram now shows you what the algorithm calculates you might like and only a percentage of the
posts of those you follow. On VERO, the algorithm is not in control – the posts appear in
chronological order (Instagram used to do this before the algorithm threw everything into disarray in a
move designed to keep users on the app longer).
• In VERO posts, you can add links that lead out of the app (something you can't do in Instagram).
When you click the button to create a post, a small menu pops up with lots of options for posting
photos, links, videos, book recommendations, movies, TV shows, etc.
• Instagram favors reels lately, and you are penalized if you want to post photos instead. On VERO, you
can post whatever you want without worrying about satisfying the algorithm.
• When you share something, you can select who will see what you posted: only close friends, friends,
acquaintances or everyone. Instagram doesn't have this feature. Facebook, on the other hand, lets
you divide your contacts into lists and use one list at a time.
• On VERO, there are "introduction posts" that you can use, for example, when a friend of yours creates
a new profile and has no contacts yet. By introducing them to yours, you can guarantee them some
attention. There are also those who offer profiles similar to yours: "I post an introduction post for you,
and you post one for me," so you both grow faster.
• When you click on a photo on VERO, you can open it full screen. It works well on an iPad and also in
landscape. The video quality is 720p, and you can see a preview in the feed.
• There is also a chat feature very similar to Whatsapp, and you can make video calls.
• On VERO, you can earn money. There is a "Buy Now" feature whereby approved sellers can offer
their products for sale directly from posts (you can recognize them by the "product" tag). Or you can
post third-party affiliate links.
In short, if Instagram is no longer an app for photographers as it was before and has disappointed millions of
users, VERO is now thrilling photographers. What's more, at this stage, they are doing everything they can
to make us feel comfortable and help us become known. There is also the possibility of submitting your
own work and seeing it published in VERO Full Frame, a weekly event (every Monday) where a
photographer is introduced to the social media community.
VERO hashtags
To encourage encounters between photographers on VERO, each day of the week corresponds to a
specific hashtag:
• Monday #momo (monochromatic Monday, monochromatic images)
• Tuesday #texturetuesday (textures, structures)
• Wednesday #wabstract (abstract images)
• Thursday #thartsday (artistic ambitions)
• Friday #fcf (feature creatures Friday, various animals)
• Saturday #macrosat (macro photography)
• Sunday #3xsun (sunrises and sunsets)
The weekly hashtags are used a little bit by everyone and help explore specific genres. It's a way to
encourage networking among photographers who share similar interests. Hashtags for professionals (when
respected) are more specific: #editorial_photography, #commercial_photographer, #photojournalism, etc.
And if, when searching, you find many interesting posts but don't have time to read them, you can use the
"bookmark" feature and save them to read later.
A feature to prevent social media addiction
As we know, social media can be addictive. Some platforms, in particular, are specifically designed to keep
users glued to the screen: the more time users spend on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, the more they can
earn from ads.
VERO has a different approach – it has no ads, and if you don't use the app for a while, it doesn't
immediately send you push notifications to intrigue you to come back. While browsing, there's even a
feature that allows you (if you want) to control how many minutes you spend on the app each day. For
example, if you are afraid that you're wasting too much time and decide you want to spend a maximum of
10 minutes per day on VERO, you can set the timer and you'll be notified when you've used up your
allotted time for the day.
How does VERO make money?
Without advertising or profiting from user data, VERO has found a way to earn money differently. Songs
from the Apple Music catalog and titles from Apple Books can be posted on the platform. If users purchase
items from Apple Books or Apple Music, VERO receives affiliate commission.
But there's more. For now, the app is free, and they promise it will always be free for those who create a
profile now. In the future, however, they plan to charge a subscription fee. Critics have lashed out at this: a
paid-for social network sounds like a scandal! Yet others have warmly welcomed the novelty. The platform
provides a service to users and someone must pay for it. Paying is a guarantee that there are no other forms
of user exploitation. Much better to shell out a small annual fee than to have one's data used to hound us
with advertisements and have our privacy jeopardized.
For photographers, VERO seems to be the new social media platform to be on. But is it for real?
Criticism of VERO
VERO has existed since 2015, but only experienced success in 2018 when it became the most downloaded
app. With the recent changes to Instagram, there has been a new wave of users in recent months looking
for a reliable social media platform where they can share what they want without having to pander to the
demands of an algorithm. Many praise the app, but the internet is full of dissenting opinions, and there are
also those who criticize VERO. Why? Let's look at the reasons:
There are fewer photo editors, agencies and marketing directors on VERO than on Instagram.
True, it's a growing social media platform, and numerically the comparison doesn't hold up. But what's the
point of having a boundless pool of potential users if the algorithm won't let you be found? VERO
supporters prefer to free themselves from the bondage of the algorithm and grow along with the platform.
Besides, nothing prohibits them from keeping their profile on Instagram.
Ayman Hariri, the CEO of Vero, has being criticised.
In 2016, a year after the platform was launched, Reuters published an article about Saudi Oger, a
construction company where Ayman Hariri had previously worked as deputy CEO. The article reported that
Saudi Oger had left workers stranded for months in crowded dormitories in labor camps, with little money
and limited access to food, water or medical care. Ayman Hariri stated that this was inaccurate information
and that the events occurred after he had left the company. However, the boycott had already begun, and
the #DeleteVero campaign became vociferous.
Ayman provided documentation confirming his divestment from Saudi Oger several years before the
unprecedented financial challenges that caused the events of 2016-2017. The documentation is cited in this
Mashable article.
For the picky, I retrieved a statement issued on behalf of the company's shareholders confirming that
Ayman sold his shares in Saudi Oger and ceased all managerial responsibilities in 2014.
In any case, in this interview Ayman Hariri talks about why he wanted to create VERO and what his ethos is
for running the new platform. Listening to his words helps one understand what he considers important and
the innovative direction he has given to VERO.
Watch on
Vero CEO Ayman Hariri explains why free doesn't exist on social media | Brit
Vero CEO Ayman Hariri explains why free doesn't exist on social media | Brit…
…
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Vero's terms and conditions were good, but...
Vero collects only a fraction of user information and ensures they do not provide the data to advertisers or
third parties. This is a definite choice and certainly commendable; in fact, it is one of the aspects they
emphasize in their communications. But in analyzing VERO's contract to write this article, I noticed
something that struck me as really unacceptable. Users were being asked for "perpetual and irrevocable"
rights to use the uploaded content.
Although it was clearly stated that they would not sell the content to third parties, it was still a demanding
request. Why couldn't the license required of the user end with the deletion of the profile?
I wrote to Vero and they replied that it would be too complex to monitor:
"This permission is perpetual and irrevocable so we have permission to display the content you have
posted so that we don't have to check with each individual user after a set period of time that they still
grant us permission to display each individual post they have published - or comment they make while
they have an account with us."
Not persuaded, I asked if they would be open to reconsider the terms of their contract. I, a photographer
and potential user of Vero, would not publish my photos if I’m required to grant perpetual and irrevocable
rights of use. And like me, many others.
...now they're even better!
The answer didn't come right away, but they hadn't forgotten – they were deciding how to deal with the
problem I had raised. Then I got an email in which they thanked me for pointing out that something was
amiss and informed me that they had changed the contract:
"Thank you for your feedback on this. We have reviewed our Terms of Use and updated the license grant
section to remove the word "perpetual" and make clear that the rights grant is limited to the time the user
has a VERO account. As we have always made clear in our Terms of Use, we do not own any content users
post on the service, nor restrict them from using that content off VERO in anyway, but we are always
happy to update our Terms of Use where we can make things clearer as was the case here. You can view
the updated Terms of Use here."
In short, VERO is a really promising app and they have also shown that they are open to receiving user
feedback. In fact, they had already modified the app in the past in response to suggestions from the
public. It is a growing platform with continuous innovations to allow users to create their own community
with other users who share the same interests.
I have now created a profile @enzodalverme and intend to explore the new potential of this social media
platform without ads and free from the bondage of an algorithm.
Who else feels like creating a profile?
Watch on
VERO. The Authentic Social Network.
VERO. The Authentic Social Network.
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This article was originally published in Italian in Fotografia.it
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