VERO: Everything you need to know!

A few things to think about:

Updated 2 March 2018

Links I’ve found regarding the founder and VERO:

• #DeleteVero Campaign
• "As Vero Blows Up, Backlash Builds Against Social App’s ‘Shady’ Founder"
• Why is there only one female employee? https://www.vero.co/about
• About the CEO - Ayman Hariri, Lebanese billionaire heir and business man, son of assassinated tycoon Rafic Hariri https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayman_Hariri
• Ayman Hariri previously served as deputy CEO and deputy chairman of Saudi Oger, a construction company founded by his father. There were reports of Saudi Oger workers going unpaid and left stranded in cramped living quarters with little food money, water, or medical care, per Reuters. The Saudi Arabian government stepped in and the company shut down in 2017 due to “mismanagement,” according to Bloomberg. - From Time.
• Be sure to read the terms in regards to the copyright of your images. Many social media platforms own and can sell your content outside of the platform and I don’t think that VERO is any different.

We're all a bit sick of social media recently, especially the ridiculous Instagram algorithm. I've been hoping for something else to come along and compete with Instagram - or just someone to do something! I woke up this morning to a few people talking about an app called VERO. I immediately had to google, what is VERO?

I immediately downloaded the app and signed up to see what the platform looked like, how it felt and what all the fuss was about. I found VERO to be actually quite peaceful, probably because there aren’t too many users there yet. It’s like a few social platforms, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram had a baby and VERO was born.

It seems to be luring people away from Instagram with the no-algorithm and no ads hype. Companies can’t boost posts and target ads to you. Apparently there isn't data-mining in creating a virtual version of you where the platform decides what you see. VERO goes back to the old Instagram, a time-based feed. Aren’t we all so ready for this to come back? 

VERO has no algorithm?

I feel like VERO will be fun for content creators, I’m tired of Instagram deciding not to show my posts to the people who have chosen to follow me. Seriously why does that even happen! The Instagram algorithm is aimed at showing a low organic reach and making content creators/business pages pay to have their posts promoted and displayed to a larger audience. It's also aiming to lessen the switching betweens apps. I use Facebook for family and Instagram for followers, more often than not - Facebook gets forgotten.

VERO App Screenshots:

Vero vs Instagram

My comparison of VERO vs Instagram right now:

(I might update this soon! VERO is currently in BETA - Testing)

Vero

• No algorithm 
• Not much compression 
• Easy to navigate with a lot of content organised within the app
• Dark background colour scheme - different and refreshing 
• Zooming and full screen view of images - Great for detailed images 
• Rectangle grid of linear view of content - Clean and easy to view
• Wide range of content possible to post 
• Search features bring up the latest content 

IG

• Worst algorithm ever 
• Image compression is high 
• Occasional crashes especially in stories
• White background and clean refreshing colour scheme
• Square grid 
• Slider posts 
• Instagram Stories
• Adverts everywhere, Sponsored posts and only people with already high engagement in the explore section

There isn't any adverts on VERO either!

I’ve read that the first million users get free accounts for life. I’m guessing a subscription service will eventually kick in, probably the way the app will be maintained without advertising. Yep, there’s no advertising! This honestly stunned me and I really hope VERO works out, it’s so refreshing to not be bombarded with Ads, Sponsored posts and Recommended Accounts from people you don’t follow. 

Sharing Features:

A feature I thought was interesting kind of relates to groups that Facebook expected everyone to create or Google Circles aimed to do. You can choose to share with Followers, Acquaintances, Friends or more secure sharing with Close Friends. When someone sends you a request you can choose which Category they belong to. People who follow you are automatically put into the Followers Category, there’s no request approvals so your content shared to Followers will be seen by everyone in that group automatically. I’m not sure if you can change the audience Category after posting so be careful what you decide to share at the moment! If you accept someone as a friend etc, they won’t show as a follower - it’s displayed separately. 

Instagram familiarities, names and handles... Whats in store for the next version?

VERO is very familiar to Instagram, it’s not hard to figure out how to use it. It’s a smart move because VERO requires almost no extra learning.

At the moment it is a little slow because of such high traffic. It’s still in BETA to make room for testing and so the developers can see what needs improvements and whats missing. 

I’ve had to search for people in the search bar - I’m not sure if users will have @handles or usernames? It seems to just be first and last names, kind of like Facebook profiles. You can title your profile with it your blog or business name, I guess you need to decide what works best for your branding. Names can be changed though! I’m excited to see what will be coming through in the updates for user profiles. 

Other VERO features:

• New posts appear on the top in time format
• IG without the Algorithm 
• Double tap is a like
• Single tap views image full screen
• Panoramas can be posted
• Sign up with your mobile and VERO sends you a code. There doesn’t seem to be any email verification? If you don’t get a text, don’t freak out! The phone call is just a robot saying the numbers! The texts are slow at the moment because of the high traffic
• Connect with your phone contacts
• Speech bubble icon is like Instagram DMs 

Viewing posts can be categorised by media type or viewed all together in a time stamp style feed. The categories available to post about are:

• Photos
• Videos
• Music
• Places
• Tv/Movies
• Links - good for new blog posts/news
• Books

Have you signed up for VERO yet?

I think we’re all breathing a sigh of relief, finally something new and exciting has come along. I would love to follow you guys back on VERO - Search Izzy Smith for me! 

This platform definitely has potential, I have high hopes and congrats to the VERO team for what you’ve already accomplished! 

If you want to read more, check out the VERO manifesto here https://www.vero.co/vero-manifesto/

* Not sponsored content, just intruiged!