One of the harshest realities of social media is that hostility faced by women on a particular platform. Out of incessant trolling to rape and death threats for speaking up, to junk mail and dick picks—the list goes on and on. Well, a tech company is trying to change the dynamic, like a traditional Web2 based social media platform such as Facebook or Instagram functions.
“Coto” or “Coming Together” is the latest offering from Eve World, a women-only Web3 community platform that aims to build a positive and valuable digital experience for women. Coto promises to reduce the gender gap on social media, where men outnumber women, and thus only allows women and transgender people to be users on the platform
“To make the internet empowering and inclusive, it is imperative to have a safe space where we can express ourselves freely. Women don’t have the opportunity to have intimate conversations, which leads to self-censorship,” said Aparna Acharekar, co-founder of Eve World.
Rampant sexism, misogyny, and trolling have become almost synonymous with social media for women. Additionally, we really don’t have many enforceable laws that would protect women and transgender people. And even social media platforms like LinkedIn, where the entire premise is to inculcate professional connections, have failed miserably for women and transgender people.
“The platform will allow members to freely create, curate, consume and own content. The decentralized nature of blockchain will help overcome privacy concerns,” said Tarun Katial, CEO of Eve World. “Think of it as WhatsApp on Instagram or WhatsApp on Reddit or Reddit on Instagram, but only for women,” he added.
The platform will be based on Web3 or the third generation internet built using blockchain technology and principles of decentralized ownership, which means that members of the platform will be able to create, curate, share content freely consume and own while solving problems with privacy. Additionally, members on the platform do not get bogged down with data breaches, algorithm-based manipulation and identity theft, which is actually a major problem women face.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that the internet forever changed the way we interact with the world and each other, how information is disseminated and ideas are shared, women, especially in India, did not have a level playing field on where they could leverage the end.
One of the main things Acharekar missed on “old social media platforms” is intimate conversations.
“Women tend to feel restricted as there are always concerns of abuse and harassment. Therefore, nobody feels free to talk about topics like menopause, motherhood and sexual problems. We want to open them up and get women to start their own groups and talk about these kinds of issues,” she said.
While women are allowed to post anonymously on “coto”, safety precautions have been taken that take effect during the registration process.
To set up an account with coto, a user must go through a basic KYC process that includes facial recognition. This is done so the platform knows if a user is female or trans. If a person doesn’t want to be discovered at all, they can choose to withhold their identity while connecting with other members of the community once they’ve registered.
The platform also intends to monetize members and help them showcase their business products through online marketplaces for women entrepreneurs on the platform.
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