Amid Facebook-Cambridge Analytica controversy, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra said that it could be the right time to find an Indian alternative of Facebook which unlike social media giant will be regulated by laws.

Billionaire businessman Mahindra took to twitter and said, "Beginning to wonder if it's time to consider having our own social networking company that is very widely owned&professionally managed&willingly regulated.Any relevant Indian start-ups out there?If any young teams have such plans I'd like to see if I can assist with seed capital (sic)"

Under the tweet, he attached the cover of the latest The Economist magazine issue on the Facebook privacy-breach controversy.




Among those who liked his idea was India's IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who had last week issued a warning to Facebook. Mahindra's idea of a home-grown social networking startup has thus garnered support from IT Minister too, and it will be interesting to see the next course of action from both.




Later in his another tweet, Mahindra even announced that he is ready to “assist with seed capital” for any “relevant Indian startup”. He then asked people interested in his idea to copy their tweets to Jaspreet Bindra (@j_bindra) who will work with Mahindra on this exploration of desi version of Facebook. "If nothing else, it should be fun...", said Mahindra in second tweet in the context.

There is no information on what type of social network Mahindra would like to invest but he has shown some interest on a blockchain-enabled platform. Notably, Mahindra is also said to invest $1 million in connected car IoT-device startup Carsense for 23% stake.

In January, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced that he hopes for Facebook's future in marriage with blockchain-technology which could help to legitimize/globalize Facebook's credibility and decentralize the internet.

According to Forbes, for Facebook blockchain offers a unique solution to many of the industry’s deep-seated problems. By bringing together social networks and blockchain technology, it creates the possibility for a more interactive, trusted and rewarding experience on social media.

Notably, there's already a social media platforms using blockchain technology called ONZ and steemit.com, although these are not decentralized. ONZ allows people to make money doing what they do for free on Facebook, for instance - posting and liking. In addition, there is Yours (formerly Datt), based on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Just a day back, ONO launched in China, dubbed as the first blockchain-based social network in China. Ono is founded female founder, who is one of the earliest blockchain entrepreneurs in China.

Other blockchain-based social network platform include Akasha, Synereo and Obsidian. Obsidian is a blockchain-based platform for messaging, data sharing, which also supports cryptocurrency as a means of sending money.
Advertisements

Post a Comment

أحدث أقدم
Like this content? Sign up for our daily newsletter to get latest updates.