LoveRealm

LoveRealm is a Christian social networking platform. It was founded by two brothers and medical doctors Yaw Ansong Jr. and Yaw Ansong Sr.[1][2][3] The company originates from Accra, Ghana, and has employees from Europe and the US.[4][1] The social network entered beta in 2016.[5]

LoveRealm
LoveRealm logo
Type of site
Social Networking
Available inEnglish
Headquarters
Accra
,
Ghana
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
  • Yaw Ansong Sr.
  • Yaw Ansong Jr.
IndustryInternet
URLwww.loverealm.com
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedJanuary 9, 2016 (2016-01-09)
Current statusOpen Beta

The website has systems in place such as a mentorship system where users are assigned to mentors whose role is to guide and assist them in personal growth.[5] Additionally, users can post their problems and share “prayer requests” to other members.[5][6]

History

LoveRealm was started by the brothers after Yaw Ansong Jr. came to believe there was a need for a Christian online network where individuals could support each other and share their beliefs in a protected space.[1][7][8]

"I was at a point in my life where I was at my lowest, and I realized that I had struggles and weaknesses and all this started when I found myself in an environment outside my country where there were not many Christians. I thought, If Christians could connect to each other wherever they are and have a platform where they could encourage each other, then it could go a long way to help them," said Dr. Ansong to Deutsche Welle.

The pre-launch ceremony of the social network website was held at the Pentecost Convention Centre during the Pentecost Students Association (PENSA) conference on 9 January 2016. [1] At the pre-launch ceremony, the founders collected feedback from randomly selected test users before releasing the website to the public. After the initial target of a few hundred test users, the website experienced technical difficulties as a result of unexpectedly high traffic. Later the issue was fixed by adding space for 2000 more initial users.[2][3]

On 30 August 2016, the company launched a mobile version of their website for Android users on the Google Play Store.[4]

Shortly after the mobile app launch, the platform reached over 20,000 users. Eight months after opening access to the public, the platform reached 50,000 users.[5][4]

Controversies

On 4 January 2016, BBC published a story explaining that Ghana was to get a sin-free alternative to Facebook. LoveRealm responded by saying that the network was providing a spiritual social network experience for Christians and not to build a salem of righteous people.[9][10]

The platform censors users by removing content it deems "un-Christian", such as nudity or violence using its built-in monitoring algorithm to do so. The platform does to try and uphold the rules and principles which it was founded on.[4][11][10]

References
  1. "Ghana: Social network LoveRealm rebrands". IT News Africa. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  2. "Dr. Yaw Ansong; Challenging Facebook with Faith". Pulse.com.gh. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  3. Africa, Rising (2016-01-13). "Meet Dr. Yaw Ansong – the Ghanaian Challenging Facebook with a Christian social network". RisingAfrica.org. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  4. "Ghanaian founder of Christian social network graduates as medical doctor - citifmonline.com". citifmonline.com. 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  5. Afanyi-Dadzie, Ebenezer (2016-08-30). "LoveRealm; the hottest place to connect with Christians". Ghana News. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  6. Quist, Emmanuel. "Meet The Boss Update: LoveRealm-Christian social media app goes viral". Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  7. "Holy, Sin-Free Christian Social Network Launched in Ghana". www.atheistrepublic.com. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  8. Rudolph., Mensah (2017). Becoming Your Dream Tomorrow's Star. Tetteh, Osborn. Cork: BookBaby. ISBN 9781483592411. OCLC 974590333.
  9. "A Christian social network site to launch in Ghana, Focus on Africa - BBC World Service". BBC. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  10. AfricaNews. "Ghanaian developers to unveil Christian social network 'free of sins' | Africanews". Africanews. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
  11. "LoveRealm: New Social Networking App to Connect Christians and Uplift Users - UrbanGeekz". UrbanGeekz. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2018-03-19.
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