In September I wrote about the new social network Gab (www.gab.ai). . To follow-up on my initial blog, Gab: A First-in Social Network Opportunity, I conducted an email interview with their chief communications officer and also found some web stats to see if they had grown. . This is part one, where I focus on the data I found and an interview. Part two (next week), will look at what all this means for you and your business. . You might not have heard of the social network Gab since it is less than 6 months old but it is something that every business should take seriously: http://buff.ly/2jcLrdK . Gab, which is very similar to Twitter, grew from nothing in August 2016 to almost 4 million website hits in December 2016, which ranks it in the top 99.99% of websites in the world. Also, with 100,000 users and 200,000 more on wait lists in December 2016, any business can join Gab now and enjoy a first-mover advantage in their niche.

2. In September 2016, I wrote
about the less than month old
social network Gab as a first-­‐in
social network opportunity for
any business.

3. What is Gab?
Similar to Twi@er but with this mission
“The People First Social Network”.

4. Has Gab grown since August 2016?
Total website traffic
- August 2016: 240,000 visits
- December 2016: wejnerskgkgrxnkjg visits
Global website rank
- December 2016: 11,663
NOTE: There are currently over 1.1 billion websites in the
world and Gab ranks in the top .001%.
Gab users
- August 2016: 0
- December 2016: 100,000
NOTE: There are 200,000 more users that have signed up
but are on wait lists.

5. At the beginning of December, I asked
a few quesJons to Gab’s Chief
CommunicaJon Officer Utsav Sanduja.
The following was our correspondence.

6. Ques:on
If you are able to share, how many
people have created accounts (rough
number) and how many are using Gab
each day or month?

7. Answer
At present our organizaJon, which began on August of
2016, has over 100,000 users with 200,000 in wait list
signups, along with an unprecedented 2.45 million
gabs sent, of which an average of 20,000 gabs are
shared per day.
The site ranks 19,685 globally in online acJvity, 3,300
in The United States and has over 24 million page
views, with our largest growth base emanaJng from
the United States, India and Brazil. Finally, Gab is very
intent on recruiJng users from France in anJcipaJon
of the upcoming presidenJal elecJons there.

8. Ques:on
What would you say to businesses that
might have a Facebook or Twi@er
account and are wary about trying a
new social network?

9. Answer
Gab has a strong, deep and rich organic set of users that vary from
professional class workers, young families and those in reJrement.
One thing that Gab takes immense pride in is the ease in which
entrepreneurs and self-­‐employed individuals are able to set up shop,
promote their brand, products and services in an expediJous
manner.
Further to this, because of our close-­‐knit ecosystem and culture that
Gab has fostered, business people everywhere have commended us
for the quality of interacJons amongst our user base. It is due to this
congenial and personable environment that has given longevity and
security to business relaJonships of all kind on Gab. Finally, Gab’s
growth internaJonally in India, Brazil and France have allowed us to
reach niche user bases that Big Social have failed to uJlize.

10. Ques:on
I think when people look at Gab, myself
included, it gets compared to Twi@er since
that gives it context. What would you say
are the big ways Gab has differenJated
and will conJnue to differenJate itself
from Twi@er?

11. Answer (part 1)
Facebook, Twi@er, and Reddit are taking the path of censorship
— Gab does not. This alone sets us apart from Big Social. The
aforemenJoned placorms also rely immensely on adverJsing
revenues for their core business model, a concept that is proving
to be fuJle in an environment of ad blockers on both mobile and
desktop web.
Lastly, we feel that Big Social does not empower content
creators, but rather exploits them as said companies make
billions off their creaJvity, Jme and energy. Gab takes a
different approach — we put the user in charge in the
expurgaJon process, we put content creators first so they can
sustain their business and passion. And more importantly, we
put free speech above all else.

12. Answer (part 2)
Gab has also innovated in areas where other placorms have
refused to. 300 characters allows for more thoughcul and
meaningful discourse in a microblogging environment.
UpvoJng and downvoJng allows both posiJve and negaJve
senJment as it empowers the community to surface great
content. Categories help users discover interesJng topics and
diverse communiJes on Gab who share similar interests.
EdiJng along with edit logs allows users to make quick
changes and modify addiJonal informaJon, while keeping the
integrity of the post in check.

13. Ques:on
Do you have a rough esJmate of
when Gab will allow users to upload
pictures and videos? Is Gab planning
on giving YouTube a run for their
money as a video hosJng placorm?

14. Answer
Stay tuned!

15. Ques:on
For now, Gab seems to be
dominated by the poliJcal right, how
will Gab posiJon itself to create an
environment where a wide array of
opinions are expressed?

16. Answer
We challenge this premise completely — to the contrary, Gab has a
number of diverse users globally. Whether it is Catholic stoics
from Austria, Hindu philosophers from India or up-­‐and-­‐coming
independent rap arJsts with socially liberal viewpoints in Canada,
here on Gab we openly welcome and embrace the diversity that is
at the heart of our ecosystem.
With respect to our conservaJve user base, when a group of
people are being systemaJcally dehumanized and labelled as the
alphabet soup of phobias, they will look for a place that will allow
them to speak freely without censorship and devoid of Social
JusJce bullying. Down the road, our future plans include open
sourcing our trends secJon to the developer community so that
biases of any kind can be curbed and brought down to a minimum.
Gab is for everyone, regardless of one’s ideological predisposiJon.

17. Next week is part 2
I will break down Gab and Twi@er’s early days and
dig into why businesses should not just keep a
close eye on Gab but also how it illustrates the
quickening pace of social media a@enJon shiks.

18. Interact with me here
@claytonjay101
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