What Happened to Vero?
An Open Letter to Vero and why it failed, by Frans Flores
An Infestation of Ads
Aren’t we all tired of watching a video on Facebook or YouTube only to be interrupted by an advertisement? Do you member the good old days when social media was more about the social and less about the media. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat all appear to have bitten the poisonous apple which is advertisements and punishing us along the way by having us sit through endless stories on our feed selling us something or a picture that has nothing to do with my friends and family.
Personally, I do not visit Facebook much now due to the infestation of ads. There are more advertisements than content. I rather avoid the app altogether then have to sit through sponsor after sponsor or advertisement after advertisement in order to view a video that my abuelita tagged me on.
I digress. Imagine a world where social web interactions are void of the cancerous media advertisement and unwanted stories or pictures. That seemed to be the glimmer of hope that the new social media app Vero promised. It promised us all of the social without the unwanted media. There was a part of me, deep inside, saying “Yes, finally, someone gets my pain. Finally I can connect without all the unnecessary noise.” There seemed to be a rushing sound or growing whisper resonating with the people. But all of that hope died. Why? Why did Vero die?
Top 3 Reasons Why Vero Died
Red Flag Numero Uno: for starters, why would you name the app Vero? That’s the name of someone’s tia, cousin, or abuelita. Vero short for Veronica. Have you downloaded Vero? Yup, there was a familiar awkwardness about the name. I didn’t know whether it was pronounced like a Hispanic name or if it had some type of English or French pronunciation. I couldn’t bear having an app that shared a name with an actual person. That’s just too weird. I should have known. Shakespeare said, what’s in a name? A lot my friend. A lot is in a name Mr. Shakespeare!
Well, I gave Vero a chance and downloaded the app, created a user account, but then some other red flags appeared.
Red Flag Numero Dos: Too much! They offered way too many options too soon. You could post videos, music, pictures, books, etc. It was all just too overwhelming right off the bat. They should have launched with just one social interaction, like photos, then add the rest along the way. The whole attraction to the app, which I can’t even continue naming, was the fact that there were no advertisements. Not all the options offered to post. That just puts too much pressure on the user on what to post. Most successful social apps keep it simple. Twitter, short rants. Instagram, pictures. Snapchat, short videos. You get it. Vero, short, what? I’m shaking my head. Short nothing…except your existence.
You gave too many options Vero, too many options.
Red Flag Numero Tres: Empty streams. People are not posting anything. You can’t socialize if there is no socializing going on. I kept seeing people joining the platform but no call to action. People were just not posting. Even with the array of options. People are just not posting. I have friends that joined at the beginning but have still to post anything. They have not posted a picture, a video, a book, or music. Empty feeds are difficult to interact with. To be honest, I have not posted anything either. I don’t know what to post. Again, Señora Vero Conchita Alonso App, you just gave us too many options. When you offer one option then people have one direction to go. If you offer too many options then people sit idle, just like everyone that created an account and has not posted any content.
In the end, I believe those are the silver bullets, wooden stakes, nails in the coffin that led, to the death of Instagram’s second distant cousin from the dad’s side, Vero.
What are your thoughts on the app Vero? Do you think Vero is dead? If so, why do you think it died? Let us know in the comments section below.
Frans Flores