What's Next After Facebook

Andrea Breanna

It's always hard to imagine what is next until suddenly it's dramatically obvious.

It is now completely clear. The first phase of the internet confused freedom of speech with code of conduct. Platforms built through the hard work of good people are being used to spread hate across the world at rates we have never seen before. The largest platforms in the world are now completely toxic. And in our decades of enduring this, the toxicity has become normalized. What women endure online — as an important example — is worth sobbing over (and I honestly hope you do).

Trump is the first Facebook president. He put all of his (and Russia's) campaign money into social. Not only was it immoral for Facebook to take the money of a bully to make their quarter, but they continue to operate a broken paradigm. Trump should have been banned at least five years ago for his abusive bullying online. Now he threatens a nuclear holocaust on Twitter, and Jack Dorsey stays silent.

This is because the platforms of today were built from the ground up on the model of free speech. Which is fine. Those platforms can exist for you to say whatever you want for good or ill. It's not like we can have an enforceable code of conduct for the entirety of the open web. But we can have a code of conduct for the social platforms we choose to use. And the right one will emerge to be a safe place where there is no room for bullies.

Twitter and Facebook have their codes of conduct already in place and have every single reason to ban Donald Trump from using the platforms they worked so very hard to create. After all, the only thing at stake is the tens of millions of lives that will be lost when he uses our nuclear force on an impoverished country, or the fact that he tortures the weak in our very own country — one many generations worked so very hard to build.

I believe culture is malleable. It is ideas that change culture. We have a responsibility to work on spreading the ideas that matter, and to spread them on platforms that value their code of conduct as much as we value our Constitution.

RebelMouse CEO + Founder Paul Berry vocalizes what we were all thinking in May 2017.

The Washington Post releases details on the story four months later.

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Austonia Launches a Truly Local Austin Source for News

Following their launch on RebelMouse in April 2020, Austonia is establishing itself as a great source of local news in Austin, Texas. Austonia combines its authentically Austin news with RebelMouse's cutting-edge platform to grow an audience of loyal subscribers.

The Vision

  • Exclusively Austin news
  • Truly local feel
  • Only promote local Austin advertisers
  • No programmatic ads
  • No paywalls to reach a larger audience
  • Led by a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial advisor, with five full-time staff members
  • Build community through digital media
  • Easily optimize content across platforms in real time

Why They Chose RebelMouse

  • Sophisticated Entry Editor purpose-built for search, social, and emerging digital formats
  • Easily incorporate powerful features to drive engagement
  • Leveraged the RebelMouse Insights Dashboard and real-time analytics data to quickly act on viral hits
  • Track record and impressive client list
  • Trust established during the initial conversations

Austonia’s Three Months Later: Real Results

  • Articles ranked on social and search right from the start
  • After a great first 15 days following their April launch, the growth continued during the next 15-day period leading into May, where traffic grew by 80%
  • During their second 30-day period that ended in June, Austonia saw 12% more growth (no sophomore slump!)
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Pageviews

Unique Visitors

April 2020–August 2020 via Google Analytics. Pageviews and User growth, both daily and a 42-day moving average.

And Stuff Like This Happens

When Austonia had the scoop on Joe Rogan moving to Austin, they used the power of RebelMouse to distribute the article across digital channels and maximize the viral impact.

The article started ranking on Google quickly, and as national media sites and social pages linked to their article, Austonia got close to almost 200,000 organic pageviews!

Why Austonia ❤️s RebelMouse

Built-in Modern Technology Integrations: With out-of-the-box compatibility with AMP, Facebook Instant Articles, and various other formats and feeds, Austonia was able to avoid an internal technical hire and still have constant technology upgrades to stay ahead of the curve.

Real Knowledge: Austonia considers RebelMouse to be more than just a tech company — it's best-in-class global expertise.

"When we chose RebelMouse, we did not yet fully appreciate what they offer beyond just technology. The best-in-class team is made up of really smart people from all over the world, working for major clients all over the world, and I benefited from that expertise and experience. As an independent local publisher, this was incredibly valuable and I have so much gratitude to RebelMouse for our success"

—Mark Dewey, Publisher and CEO of Austonia

Change Your Publishing Platform

Just like Austonia, all properties on our platform grow at mind-boggling rates, and are built in a way that allows publishers to focus on producing great content, which in turn becomes sustainable, high-growth social traffic and loyal, long-lasting communities. Customers like Austonia who trust their digital strategy to the experts in distributed content are able to compete with high-budget global news corporations and show up everywhere first!

Request a proposal today and let's start working together.

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