When I was out west for WPPI, I kept hearing about the latest and greatest social network, Vero. Despite the initial bugs, I immediately signed up, anxious to see whether Vero could be a helpful platform for photographers.

There’s been a lot of debate about Vero’s CEO and his past, but so far, the platform is pretty impressive.

What is Vero, and How is It Different?

Despite having an uptick in popularity the last couple weeks, Vero isn’t new — it’s been around since 2015. It’s positioned as a mobile-only platform that works on both iOS and Android devices. Upon first glance, you might think you’re looking at a dark version of Instagram. But it’s much more than that.

Vero emphasizes that there are no advertisements in its app, and that there are no pesky algorithms. Instead, content is displayed based on the date and time it was posted. You also won’t see any sponsored posts — instead, you’ll just see the content from accounts you’re following.

You can share six types of content — photos/videos, links, music, movies/TV, books and places. You can browse through each type of content using a “Collections” tab.

Vero is free, for now. They’ve made it clear that they intend to charge, after extending its “free for life” offers to all new users until further notice. No word yet on how much Vero will cost, or when pricing will go into effect.

How is Vero the Same?

If you’re familiar with Instagram, you’ll be immediately familiar with Vero. Upon launching the app, you’re immediately greeted with content. Underneath each post is a caption, along with comments and likes. You double-click to like a post, just like you would with Instagram. You can add hashtags and locations to your posts, again, just like Instagram.

But that’s where the similarities really stop.

How Can Photographers Utilize Vero?

Right now, there’s not much different in terms of sharing your photographs with Vero than there is on Instagram or Facebook. I personally like the way it organizes content better, but the masses are yet to be on Vero. From what I’ve seen, it’s mostly creatives and influencers, rather than potential clients or the general public.

That said, given the potential of the platform, it might be good to start building a base. That way, when the public does join the platform, you already have a bunch of content to show them.

One thing that I do love about Vero, is that it highlights its individual members via the Search screen. Think of this screen as a better organized and curated version of Instagram’s Explore screen, in that it takes the best content on the service that you might like, and displays it for you in one section. Vero emphasizes its users in the “Editor’s Choice” and “Currently on Vero” sections of the Search screen, and this gets updated quite frequently.

Conclusion

For now, Vero is a great place to share your work and to find new inspiration — think of it as a way to network amongst other creatives. While its user base is still relatively small compared to the big guys, Vero has the potential to grow exponentially. It’s everything I wish Instagram and Facebook were, but without the audience (yet).

Check out the video below for an overview on Vero:

 

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