UmeNow.com says Facebook cannot deliver privacy to its users – but maverick startup UmeNow.com does
NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2011 — "Mark Zuckerberg is worth billions of dollars because he has information about you. He knows what you like, what you think, who your friends are. He and his company get paid when they sell ads — not when they protect people's privacy. He's a global ad salesman in a hoodie and t-shirt," stated Evelyn Castillo-Bach, the founder of UmeNow.com.
The entrepreneur mom is promoting her startup UmeNow.com as the private alternative to Facebook: "It's perfect for people who want an ad-free and super-private environment to connect with the important people in their lives. "
In contrast to Facebook, UmeNow.com has banned ads and apps and allows anonymous posting. Castillo-Bach, speaking from NYC, profiled Facebook as a massive database and go-to resource for advertisers and companies that make games and 50,000+ apps.
Said Castillo-Bach: "The WSJ reported last week that Zuckerberg generated ad revenue in excess of 1.6 billion during the first half of 2011. Last year he earned another 500 million from games alone. Facebook makes nothing. It creates nothing. Its value is based on what, exactly? Your information."
Castillo-Bach dismisses Facebook's recent privacy changes as cosmetic: "Yes, users will have greater control in deciding what friends and acquaintances can see. But the real privacy issues go unattended.
"It is widely known that Facebook has no way of really knowing and tracking what companies do with all the user information they collect. Apps and games can also pull in information from nonusers. Which of those apps and games are also doubling as data collection companies?
Facebook has morphed into a data collector. You can put a lot of red lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig."
As Castillo-Bach sees it, Facebook has a core problem it cannot escape from: "Their entire business model is mounted on quicksand. Facebook will survive only as long as users look the other way and allow great wealth to be created by extracting their information."
UmeNow.com has a business model that is subscription-based only. "Our members are tech-savvy. They know that our only loyalty is to protect their privacy," explained Castillo-Bach. Site features include the ability to form a limitless number of private groups or Walls where one can meet in private.
UmeNow.com's subscription rate is $6.00/month for an individual plan. Pay for the full year in advance and the total cost drops to $45.00/year. That's less than 20 cents a day. The group rate allows 10 people to join for a very affordable $100.00/year. A 30-day free trial will gain you access to most site areas.
Castillo-Bach blogs regularly under the "In the News" section of UmeNow.com. Her next stop is Denmark to promote "Facebook is Trash, National Privacy Celebration." She earned her M.S. in 1993 from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Blogs, videos, Privacy Wiki: https://umenow.com/in-the-news.html
Follow UmeNow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UmeNow_com
Join UmeNow: https://umenow.com
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