Tsu Goes Black And is SHUT DOWN
Tsu recently closed its doors to over 5 million members and went black. The question the members are asking is why was Tsu Shut down?
Sebastian Sobczak posted a statement on the Tsu homepage that didn’t really answer the question why Tsu shut down? This has led to members coming up with some crazy conspiracy theories. My favorite being that Donald Trump had purchased the platform and built a big wall around it.
But seriously why?
Well, my sources tell me that it was a funding issue, no money no site, it is as simple as that.
Tsu Goes Black – This how did we got to where we are now?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a very bullish article on how Tsu would be a success and become the next big social media site. The article was called “How many members does Tsu have“. This it was an article fashioned on the idea that we have a perfect world. I believed in the Tsu mission statement, that we should be rewarded for content creation. We create, we own, we are rewarded. But somewhere along the way we moved away from being the people’s network and started promoting Z-listers and Tsu created superstars.
When the beta phase of groups was rolled out rather than let the real members test the update Tsu decided to hand the vast majority of groups over to one particular group of members. These members then added a charity to their new monetized groups that really didn’t benefit anyone in real need. It didn’t feed anyone who was hungry, it didn’t provide fresh clean water to those who had none, it didn’t protect animal species in danger it only really benefited the members who championed it within Tsu. The other 99% of Tsu sat back in horror at what was allowed to happen. A two-tier system was created and Tsu never really recovered from the discontent that grew from this. Early adopters left or became inactive, the Tsu Alexa rating dropped and daily rewards fell away.
Despite all of this Tsu pushed forward and technically advanced. A complete overhaul of the platform arrived as version 3.0 was introduced….. but this was a very different setup to what Tsu members were used to, and drastically impacted rewards and only served to widen the gap between tier 1 and 2 members.
Regular members saw their views drop like a stone. Rewards tumbled ever lower because of one reason “you needed to trend on the homepage to get the views” the problem being that the new trending algorithm that measured likes, comments, and shares and ultimately the engagement of a post favored the verified members. A post with just a couple of shares from a verified member would trend above a post with 10-20 plus shares.
The homepage turned into a page where a privileged few lived. But it got worse. The version 3 update added the ability for members to follow channels.The result of this was to flood member feeds with content which resulted in member follower totals being diluted. Your followers saw lots more, and saw you a lot less. Some members who had social strategies, myself included found that their pages were penalized, so there was absolutely no way to trend on Tsu, ever.
More members leaving
More Tsuvians left, Alexa continued to slide. I stayed because I believed in the site and what it was trying to do and hoped it would change.
Next came the introduction of Tsu Video. This new feature never really worked correctly. it was buggy and was a work in progress. The Tsu Original One contest launched to get members using the video feature. Unfortunately, the contest only served to cause discontent within the platform. It was discovered that the popular vote could be over turned by the 3 judges. Contestants could get millions of votes but if the 3 judges disagreed with the popular vote the other artist would win despite the landslide vote against them.
Tsu Goes Black – Next came the darkness as we went BLACK and Tsu was shut down
There is no doubt that Tsu was a great site, a hybrid of many ideas. Some good, some bad. A site that rewarded the members for creating original content.
Tsu Goes Black – Why did we move away from the people’s network ideal?
I can’t answer that. Somewhere along the way, Tsu stopped supporting the real influencers. Tsu started to favor of wannabes, and without a strong foundation, we got ourselves into some deep waters. Feedback was never really welcomed on Tsu and explanations when questions came were never forthcoming.
There is no doubt Sebastian and the team created an epic site. But I can’t help feeling that we have lost an opportunity with Tsu to create lasting change.
It is not all doom and gloom because quietly while Tsu was suffocating from endless poor management decisions a new platform was growing and strengthening in the background.
The8App has stepped out into the light. There are some similarities between Tsu and The8App the main ones being that The8App also believes that content creators should be rewarded for the content that they produce and that The8App is also based in New York but that is where the similarities end.
A similar message yet a very different proposition
There are no affiliate links with The8App. You are rewarded for the engagement around your content and not that of the content that your downline produces. No more sitting back and leaching off endless members you have never even met.
The Sponsor Hub
The8App has a feature called the Sponsor Hub where big brands (advertisers) can sponsor members directly to share their message. This is something that you see on Instagram where members have business contact details on their profiles for Brands to then contact them. The thing is that to benefit from sponsorship deals on Instagram you either have to be famous or have 20000+ followers. Anyone using Instagram who didn’t benefit from gaining a big following from the site growth knows just how hard it is to build a following on Insta that any brand would be interested in, With The8App Brand Sponsorship is brought to the masses. It doesn’t matter if you are Kim Kardashian or Kim from the corner store, the Sponsor Hub is open to everyone.
Follower Numbers
The more followers you have the better. Again if you have 10 followers or 10000 the Sponsor Hub is open to everyone
The Next Step
Just head over to the App Store and download The8App. Once you have downloaded the app set up your profile and follow @Dexterroona, I will then receive a notification. I can then welcome you and give you all the help that you require. You can also register online at www.The8App.com
You loved the social message that Tsu set out with then you have to download The8App.
Ron Callari
I wrote something similar on this topic elsewhere – but worth repeating here based on your request for feedback: Sebastian Sobczak was an exceptional visionary – but I think as you have noted Dexter – somewhere a long the way he got lost, caught up in the world of “celebrity” – what you call Z-Listers ~ and as a result IMHO it distracted him from the focus that was desperately needed to grow Tsū.
While at the platform’s onset, he was open to critiques, feedback and even criticism, this last six months he became less and less communicative with his users ~ almost aloof ~ no longer willing to engage or interact!
And while this type of behavior from a founder was expected on an individual basis – less he get stretched too thin — it was more disappointing to see less and less update clarifications, next step roll-outs, and in general a long-term plan and outlook for the future. For instance was the network strictly a ‘shared economy model’ or did he really want to have it evolve into a bigger-badder PayPal monetization model? But never had the wherewithal to pull it off?
This lack of clarity and direction was shown out on several fronts — in virtually no Tsū marketing or public relations [since the last we saw of publicity came from the time FB banned the network last year], an ill-conceived Songwriters Contest, a Reputation-Score functionality feature that scared users and was never launched, and the list goes on an on and on. All of this and more goes to a point made by several that this grande social media paradigm shift was beginning to appear ‘amateurish’ ~ lacking its early innovative prowess.
But the straw that broke the camel’s back — at least for me — was closing shop as abruptly as he did with no advance notice. That type of dispassionate behavior and comportment is not what I saw in the Sebastian Sobczak I knew back in October, 2014 and most of 2015. He nurtured a band of loyalists who became his network’s greatest advocates and an extension of his marketing arm – and then he simply turned his back on all of us, as if that 20 months of hard work meant nothing ~ and slipped away into the night without any palatable explanation as to why. Sad ending to a social experiment that had so much promise.
Jess Blevins
My 2 cents: I noticed Tsu failing way before groups. They didn’t listen to the people. They allowed others to harass and didn’t do anything until the other person retaliated. They contradicted themselves in many ways. Some could say follow or share while others posts were removed. To take away from a community that helped them grow and so many that gave to charities so blindly was a coward move. Some still have hope that the site Tsu will return but so many signs show the complete opposite. tsu is dead! I stood behind this site and believed there was room to grow yourself and even live off this site but some didn’t agree with some of our views and banished us. I have every right to say karma is a Bitch, and I can say I am thankful to have the friends I have because of Tsu! And Dex is one of my besties!
Dexter Roona
can’t really argue with any of that, the handing over of the beta phase of groups was the start of the discontent, we were on a slippery slope from then on.
Dexter Roona recently posted…Tsu Social closes the door to 5 million members
Kelli (kell_belle_coupon)
The beta groups tore my pants. I was denied for the oddest reasons (I shared with you before Dexter) including being a niche group when I saw so many more niche groups … and I wasn’t the only one treated in that manner. However in retrospect the couponcommunity was strong there until the logarithms changed – and a group of people who count pennies, literally, are not the ones to mess over when it comes to money. I still believed in the concept even then but after the groups which never got any better occurred, I could see that the original vision was gone. It was so wrong how they went dark and I bet they won’t hear the last of how that went down.
Dexter Roona
there is no Google news coverage that i can find which says that no one outside of tsu is really very interested.
Dexter Roona recently posted…Looking at things with a brighter perspective!
kasi
Kelli, i agree the coupon community was strong. I worked hard to make the group couponers valuable to the community. I spent countless hours inviting couponers to join our group. I fought with the powers trying to get the monitization changed on the group to give more money to the posters and less to the owner and admins ( which they did not listen to) i weekly asked for analytics of the group to try to improve the content that we all wanted to see, and only got anakytics once in the 9 months i tried to get them. the monitization was all screwed up and i was doing an excel spread sheet f my screenshots to show this when TSU went down. i did notice something weird as i was doing it, my likes went down everytime they did an update….what were they deleting posts, or did the member who left the likes go back and unlike thousands of my posts? weird…. if anyone else has daily screen shots of your analytics, please talk to me? It doesn’t matter now, but it is curosity of my part
Tom
Hello, i was at tsu.
Which do you prefer :
Rabadaba, frizzo, futurenet, or another ?
You mentioned a big surprise at facebook.
Dexter Roona
Im not on Rab or Frizzo…. Futurenet is a matrix/passive income ad pack site built into a social site, the social site is pretty poor in my opinion and the business will go pop sooner or later.
Dexter Roona recently posted…Looking at things with a brighter perspective!
Zeljko Zic
Regards from @elektro Tsu,
It is a pity that the ending was sad, however we have learned something, right? We were a little confused and started as a loose children, their separate ways. They could give us a few days to agree as a community to move forward. Do you think you would have a better chance of success? I think that for hundreds of people every door is always open.
Steve Clark
I can see a few reasons why they failed. I wasn’t really involved in the issues with favouritism. I did get some groups early on, but they didn’t do me much good. They failed at marketing. Those users who did come in didn’t know how to use it and didn’t recruit. Most gave up very quickly. I stayed because I made friends, which is what a social site should be about. If people are purely trying to make money then it’s bound to fail as the quality will be low. Seb and his team didn’t seem to care about the issues. The music contest was a desperate attempt that failed to get publicity.
I’ve moved on. Now using steemit to do some blogging. Not expecting riches. The technology is interesting to me.
Dexter Roona
Steemit is a good site, i have that and the posts seem to rank well on google…. you can always write for Infobunny if you want to.
Dexter Roona recently posted…Loving yourself first! How to feel better about yourself