We have been researching some of the Facebook alternatives recently. Two days ago we wrote about Ello, the Ad-free social network, which promises that it would not sell your data to advertisers.

Today, we focus on another social network that is generating buzz. Its called Tsu (pronounced as Sue). Tsu is a social network which is free to join, like Facebook. However, unlike Facebook, which has authority over all the content you share, the users of Tsu will own the content themselves and get paid in the process.

For brands and advertisers, Facebook has decreased the organic reach drastically and with frequent algorithm changes, it has become difficult to keep track of how to reach more audience via Facebook. Tsu comes across as a much needed alternative in such a scenario.

Facebook and Twitter use content created by users to generate revenue for its shareholders. Tsu on the other hand promises to do the exact opposite, by generating revenue for content publishers who can earn money for the content they produce.

According to Sebastian Sobczak, founder of Tsu:

“Established social networks have built amazing business models prospering on the total monetization of free user-generated content. Why should anyone commercially benefit from someone else’s image, likeness and work giving no financial return to the owner? The markets we participate in are enormous, growing and can materially compensate each user — we’re simply and uniquely rewarding the users who are doing all the work. This is the way the world should work.”

The philosophy on which Tsu has been built

How does it work?

Tsu is an invite only network. One can only join Tsu based on an existing user’s shortcode.

Tsu shares social revenues that come from third party ads, sponsorships and partnerships. Once revenues are generated, Tsu receives 10% of the revenue to maintain the platform. Half of the remaining (45%) directly goes to the owner of the content and the other half of the remaining (45%) goes to the user’s upstream Family Tree (network of which you are part of)

A user’s Family Tree is the entire network that is connected to the user which has contributed to the growth of the Tsu platform. This can be classified as:

1. Friends: Users who are friends with you on Tsu
2. Children: Users who have joined directly through your shortcode
3. Grandchildren: Users who have joined via a shortcode from a user who is your “Child” on Tsu
4. Network: Users who are one or more generations away from you on Tsu. People who have joined your network (being invited by a user who is already a part of your network)
5. Followers: Users who follow you on Tsu

 Each user will have an upstream Family Tree (of which you are a part of) and a downstream family tree (network that has started from you). When you join Tsu, through someone’s shortcode, you become a part of that user’s network (your upstream Family Tree). So 45% (other half of the remaining) of the revenue will be shared with your upstream Family Tree.

What is Tsu’s Algorithm?

Risks Associated with a Model such as Tsu

Tsu works very similar to an MLM model.

Historically a lot of MLM (multi level marketing) models have failed because most of them exist as nothing but pyramid schemes. Pyramid Schemes’ primarily focus on getting more users to join the network. Users (who are part of a pyramid scheme) do not have goods or services to sell but rather their entire focus is on getting new users to join their downline tree. As no goods or services are exchanged/sold, the tree collapses, because there is no economics at play. Based on available data from companies, 99.9% of the users lose money in MLM.

Tsu might suffer from some of these same challenges that an MLM model faces. Another challenge which Tsu might face is from spammers who might share low quality content or copyrighted content from others to make quick money.

How is Tsu trying to mitigate some of these challenges

1. Tsu has moved to an encrypted connection. So your URL would be something like  https://www.tsu.co/TheMikePitt
2. Tsu has also updated it FAQ section that now deals with Spamming, They have stated that:

“The tsū team is constantly improving algorithms that detect users that share low engaging content, to create the best possible experience for everyone.  Nobody follows spammers and no one likes irrelevant content. Sharing content that’s not original or engaging will turn off your audience and mean less shared revenue.”

This means the team at Tsu is actively taking steps to get rid of spammers, low quality content as well as people trying to make quick money by distributing copyrighted material.

Will users of Tsu end up making profits for genuine content? Will Tsu be able to mitigate challenges of an MLM model? Will Tsu ensure that quality content is shared always? We will wait and watch how the Tsu story unfolds.

Meanwhile if you want to join Tsu, here’s a link to Mike’s shortcode

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article. So do you think you will join Tsu Social Network? Do leave your comments below.

If you’d like to talk to us about creating an effective plan for using Tsu for your business give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us at mail@marketingfundamentals.com. We are a leading Content Marketing agency in London.

Best regards,

Marketing Fundamentals Team

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