Sokhrates, a new social media platform, allows users to donate to their favourite causes, simply by creating an account and posting.
Bylakuppe, a tiny Tibetan settlement bordering Mysuru and Kodagu, was among the worst affected by the Karnataka floods in August. The rain fury displaced many, including children and animals, forcing them to live in temporary shelters. Many of the schools in Bylakuppe are still not functioning as the small buildings that housed them were damaged. A month from now, when some of those school buildings get back their metal roofs and the classes resume, little would the students imagine that the money for repair has come through people posting their holiday pictures and baby videos online.
Sokhrates, a new social media platform, allows users to donate to their favourite causes, simply by creating an account and posting. Marta Esteban, COO of Sokhrates, was in India recently to visit some of the charities they work with – including a vaccination project for slum children in Mumbai and some of the 36 animal care centres run by People For Animals. Esteban, a Spanish national in her forties, says, “Like in any other social network, in Sokhrates, users can meet people, post videos and photographs, create pages or groups and chat with friends. The difference is that, unlike other social networks, Sokhrates will allocate the profits obtained through ethical advertising and other monetising tools to fund projects.”
Sokhrates, a new social media platform, allows users to donate to their favourite causes, simply by creating an account and posting.
In that sense, is it like Facebook for philanthropy? Esteban says, “With almost two billion users, Facebook made a profit of $13 billion in 2017. If Sokhrates only reached a small percentage of that, it would generate significant funds to support projects.” She says the name, Sokhrates, honours the great Greek philosopher Socrates, who brought a whole new spiritual perspective to the Western world. “Since the idea of Sokhrates was conceived in India, the K for Krishna was also introduced in the naming,” she adds.
Her visit to India was also aimed at generating awareness about the social network and motivate more people to sign up. With women, children and animals at the heart of their charities, Sokhrates has also signed by Union Minister Maneka Gandhi as their honorary brand ambassador in India. Gandhi says, “It is heartening to see that groups such as Sokhrates are coming forward to assist animal shelters. Welfare of animals is intricately linked with larger welfare of the society.”
But do people have the liberty to choose the cause they want to associate with? “We offer users a voice on what projects they would like to be funded first, because every time a user interacts in Sokhrates, he/ she accumulates Sokhrates coins. They can donate those coins by choosing their favourite project and allocating their coins to it,” she explains.
So the more active users Sokhrates has, the more funds it can provide. And, Esteban says, their target user is anyone who has a social media account. “People just need to log in and use this social network every day; no money needed from their side. That is why, India will be our priority in the time to come – being a country with over 270 million social media users and one of the fastest growing in this respect.”
Sokhrates’ mobile app came out a few months ago and they have 35,000 users from across the world as of now. “We have provided funds for over 60,000 euros until today, and at least another 14,000 will be provided before the end of the year,” says Esteban. With a fifth of their funding allocated to India, Sokhrates has worked majorly with Vimala Association, in the field of women and children health, People for Animals. Elsewhere, they have aided the construction of two houses in Nepal after the earthquake and are working on a project back home, in Spain, to make Ibiza plastic free.
Sokhrates has been created by a group of Italian and Spanish people, but is open to anyone willing to help. “Some provide funds, some provide professional knowledge, some provide new ideas, and others simply become users,” adds Esteban.