(2018-03-21) Can You Build A Better Successor For Facebook This Competition Wants You

Can you build a better successor for Facebook? This competition wants you

While people ponder over whether they should delete Facebook in light of the Cambridge Analytica debacle, a competition called the OpenBook Challenge wants entrants to create a successor for the beleaguered social network.

As per its website, the OpenBook Challenge claims to be "not an idea or business plan competition," but rather a contest which will fund teams based on their "ability to execute," with privacy at the forefront.

"We want to invest in replacements that don’t manipulate people and that protect our democracy from bad actors looking to spread misinformation."

The competition is being funded by tech investor and Weblogs Inc. co-founder Jason Calacanis, who said he'd give $100,000 to seven teams and host them for a 12-week incubator.

OpenBook Challenge home

This is not an idea or business plan competition. We are looking for teams that can actually build a replacement, and we will be judging teams primarily based on their ability to execute.

In order to beat Facebook, we believe the winning team will have to not only build a base functionality that is familiar to users looking to switch, but also provide new experiences that will make users passionate about the new product

We are looking for a sustainable business model. Subscriptions, reasonable advertising, cryptocurrency, etc.