Not everyone is a fan of Facebook. Some people find the site does not align with their values and morals, even though there are ways users can control the content they see. A growing number of Evangelical Christians are turning to Facegloria instead. The website was launched in June, and approximately 100,000 people signed up that month.
It’s Run by Brazilian Evangelical Christians
Mark Zuckerberg is Facebook’s CEO and one of five co-founders. Raised in a Jewish household, Zuckerberg had a bar mitzvah at the age of 13. He is now an atheist.
Facegloria was founded by four Brazilian Evangelical Christians who all worked for the mayor of Ferraz de Vasconcelos, a town near Sao Paulo, the country’s capital. The mayor even provided some seed money to get the site up and running.
While the people of Brazil have historically been predominantly Catholic, there is a pronounced shift underway in the religious preferences of the country’s citizens. In 1980, approximately 90 percent of Brazilians were Catholic. Today it is 65 percent, which equates to approximately 123 million people as of 2010 according to the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank. During the same period, the number of Evangelical Christians grew from 6 percent to 22 percent, and there are currently roughly 42 million. If the trend continues, Brazil will have more Evangelicals than Catholics by 2040.
There Are Strict Rules on Posting Content
The idea for the site came about because the founders believe there is a large population who feel Facebook has a lot of offensive and immoral content. As a result, there are relatively stringent rules about what can be posted on Facegloria including:
- Nothing violent or erotic
- No pornography
- No curse words (Users are prohibited from using around 600 words)
- No photos or videos portraying gay relationships (This rule exists despite gay marriage being legal in Brazil since 2013)
- Some pictures of people drinking and smoking (These are decided on a case-by-case basis)
There is a group of 20 people responsible for monitoring content and removing questionable posts. Some of them are volunteers and receive no compensation for their work. According to published reports, the vast majority of users have readily complied with the rules.
“Like” vs. “Amen”
On Facebook, users express approval of content by hitting “Like” under posts. On Facegloria, “Amen” is used.
They Are Being Sued by Facebook
Facebook does not “Like” Facegloria and apparently doesn’t appreciate its name similarity; it is suing the company for “misuse of brand.”
Other Companies Trying to Compete With Facebook
Facegloria is not the first company to try to compete with Facebook, but its Evangelical angle is unique and may be a significant differentiating factor. Some other social media platforms attempting to vie with the social networking giant are:
- Google+
While Google reigns supreme in the search engine space, Google+, the company’s social media platform, has had more difficulty attracting users. The fact it was launched in 2011, well after Facebook, has probably been a primary reason it has struggled with market share. It is still highly beneficial for businesses and individuals to post on the website, even if it is not their preferred social media platform; content on Google+ is more highly prioritized by the company’s search engine algorithms.
- Myspace
Myspace was founded in 2003, one year before Facebook, and was the dominant player for several years. Media giant News Corporation purchased the website for $580 million in 2005. Myspace was the number one visited website in the U.S. in 2006, but things started to unravel shortly thereafter. Facebook surpassed the company in 2008 in number of unique worldwide visitors, and things have gone steadily downhill ever since.
For people in search of a more wholesome social media experience, Facegloria may be a great alternative. However, the company should be wary of Facebook.