All Tech Is Human Library Podcast Series #14 | Jeffrey Edell
In the fourteenth conversation of a sixteen-part All Tech is Human Library Podcast interview series, CEO of MeWe Jeffrey Edell joins David Ryan Polgar to discuss MeWe: The privacy-first social media platform that has earned endorsements from the most prominent technologists. How does Edell believe MeWe can solve the problems created by the largest mainstream platforms? Check out the full podcast series here.
About Jeffrey Edell
Jeffrey Edell is an entrepreneur in the entertainment, media and tech industries. Jeffrey Edell is best known as serving as a top executive at numerous entertainment and technology organizations such as: CEO and president of Soundelux Entertainment Group, Chairman of Intermix Media (former parent company of MySpace) and eLabor.com (formerly jeTECH Data Systems) CEO of Inferno, CFO of Cinedigm, president and COO of DIC Entertainment, co-founder of IndieU along with his daughter Natalie Edell and former president and CFO of WTG Enterprises. In early 2021, Edell was named CEO of MeWe.
Key Takeaways
Our society is in a pivotal moment where we can break the cycle of tech’s abuses; platforms like MeWe and the decentralization of Web 3.0 serve to democratize, inform, and put power back in the hands of users.
If we are to address the issues that divide us, we need collective action and empathy, rather than individualism.
A better tech future looks like having agency over the data and information we produce without manipulation by tech companies; it also looks like putting the tech aside to find common ground with one another again.
Quotes
“MeWe comes from a place of allowing our members...we call them members, not users...to have control of their data and of their information. We respect their privacy and we really want a better world. This is one of those opportunities in life when people talk about changing the world. Sometimes there's not a lot of meat on that. In this instance, I really believe with Project Liberty, with what we're trying to do in this Web 3.0 world, given MeWe as a platform, as the pioneer, really to do this. We have an opportunity to change the world. We're in a very pivotal place now, a tipping point in our world.” 3:04 - 3:48
“We set [Myspace] up to be a platform where people could communicate, meet others, participate in groups, show what they have to do. It was like, real social. And in the last 17 years it's really gone bad…If you look at surveys, studies, and polling that we've done on the platform itself, we're seeing social media just doesn't work. And whether it's having your children on something, infinite scrolling, waking up in the morning and seeing everybody with the perfect life and so forth.” 7:08 - 7:42
“But I will tell you, you'll notice that you spend [a] few hours to 12 hours a day on your telephone. There's an addiction that exists there, and so your minds are being manipulated to look at things. It's the way those models are built by Facebook and these other platforms. We're not like that at all. It's important that your eyeballs stay on their platform because they get money from advertisers. MeWe is completely different. We're subscription-based, which means, sure, we care that you spend time, but we're trying to give you the experience that the members want and your decision to spend time.” 8:01 - 8:40
“ I think it's all about the ‘we.’ That's why it's MeWe, it's all about the ‘we’ versus the ‘me.’ And that's the important thing here. I don't think any individual should be larger than the company…being this 20 million-user platform that's trying to pioneer to get others...tens of millions of companies [and] people on board, so we can all have the success to try to change the world and…the divisive environment that we live in. That's more important than me.” 12:21 - 12:52
“So, in terms of my background, I would say when you're younger, you tend to think more about yourself and what you want for yourself. And I think when you take a bigger view of the world on how you can benefit more people...because when you pass away, your only value in this world is what you've left to others. And if you don't impart either [learnings] or some connection with them, you were nothing. That's my belief.” 15:56 - 16:24
Learn More About Jeffrey Edell
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Credits:
David Ryan Polgar - Moderator
Jeffrey Edell - Interviewee
Unfinished Live - Producers
