So much of our lives are lived online these days, from shopping to sharing every minuscule aspect of our day, that one would assume we are more connected than ever. However, these “online acquaintances” we share our lives with are little more than faces or digital avatars, as we lack a genuine connection with many of the people we “connect” with online.
Many people have begun to notice a phenomenon of “social fatigue” plaguing social media users, with one report claiming that as many as “half of consumers will abandon or ‘significantly limit’ social media interactions by 2025.” Essentially, the platforms claiming to bring us together are instead drawing us further apart due to their unethical and deceitful practices.
“There’s a fire in the basement of these social media platforms,” says Scott Swanson, founder and CEO of Bonder, a revolutionary and disruptive location-based communication platform. “A lot of what people do every day online isn’t distilling down into much. We have the perception that we’re achieving, but we’re not really doing anything in the outside world around us.”
Swanson, like many other critics of social media, has pointed out that these platforms are run on deceitful business models. Even though they purport to be free services, users are “paying” for them with their data.
“Social media companies aren’t about their service — they’re data collection companies,” Swanson says. “These platforms generate revenue through advertising powered by data collection and AI.”
Bonder disrupts the status quo of communication
Bonder, the brainchild of Swanson, stands out with its unique approach. It’s a location-based communication platform that operates on a business model that defies the norm. “We are about building ecosystems of people helping people,” he emphasizes. “There’s no advertising, there’s no data collection, and there’s no AI. We generate revenue by solving proximity problems, social problems, and retail problems.”
Indeed, by solving legitimate problems for consumers and retailers alike, Bonder’s platform provides a legitimate value proposition. Social media has become so distanced from its apparent purpose that it reduces users to data points, and when users are treated like little more than data points, they will begin to feel that way. According to research, social media companies sell user data for a mere two cents per minute per user. While this adds up on a massive scale, it shows how little these entities value an individual’s needs and interests.
Existing social media platforms have their share of issues. For instance, their policies — such as terms and conditions and privacy policies — are often intentionally convoluted, leaving users in the dark about what they’re agreeing to. Some platforms even engage in questionable practices, such as TikTok’s reported ability to monitor users’ keystrokes. While they justify this as necessary for “troubleshooting,” the lack of safeguards against misuse is concerning. These drawbacks underscore the need for a more transparent and user-centric platform like Bonder.
One key characteristic of Bonder’s innovation that sets it apart from the status quo of social media is that it is built around private ecosystems designed by the users. “You are opting in to join whatever environments you choose to join,” Swanson explains. “We are creating private ecosystems you have to be invited to outside of noisy social media platforms. They are free and void of monitoring, shadow banning, censorship, and intrusion from all the people who are really behind the scenes of social media platforms. This is something we all want and need.”
Providing legitimate value to users and retailers alike, without data collection
For example, when it comes to retailers — one of the main environments on which Bonder is focused — users can opt-in to share their location to improve their in-store experience. “When you walk into an environment such as a retailer, the app will light up,” Swanson explains. “You’ll see people, places, products, discounts and offers, and private circles you can join that are unique to that location — all to improve your experience. When you leave, you go off the grid in a totally private ecosystem you built by inviting people you have met via a personal encounter.”
Swanson points out that in today’s world, options like Amazon are becoming more convenient, but in an attempt to combat this, retailers are pivoting in the wrong direction. “Retailers are automating themselves out of business,” he asserts. “All that brick-and-mortar retailers have today is the human connection. Our app seeks to restore that connection to the retail experience using the devices everyone has in their own hands.”
Bonder’s business model is a true first-of-its-kind that will disrupt the field of communication platforms for the better. Bonder offers unprecedented levels of security, customization, and censorship-free communication due to the platform’s inherent characteristics. In doing so, Bonder restores the element of connection missing from a field that claims to bring us closer together but is actually driving us further apart.