Ritu Jha-
With LYK, his social media engine, Adris Chakraborty offers social media users something that a lot of social media doesn’t have: privacy.
He told indica that it “eliminates the pains of social networking where people get intimidated and trolled. These unique privacy filters help you to create your own privacy zone while networking.”
Before he started LYK, Chakraborty had his own set of trials and tribulations to go through.
“I came to the United States in 2002,” he said. “I was on an H1B visa and then had to go through the journey of getting my green card, and then citizenship. I know the pains of people who have to go through the immigration process. It’s not so easy.”
But Chakraborty soon used his skills to make his mark in advertising and marketing, and now has teams in India, the U.K. and the U.S. He is powering his current effort by combining his social media expertise with his technology savvy.
He gets back to his pitch about LYK.
“When netizens spend so much time on a social platform, they don’t get rewarded for their time,” Chakraborty argued. “So, LYK actually introduced time miles for any user who spends time on the social platform.” It relies on a user-generated video-sharing platform called LYKStage, which not only rewards its creators but also viewers, since the latter spend time watching content.
The more time spent on LYK, the more “LYK coins” you earn. After earning a certain number of LYK coins, they can be redeemed on your PayPal account. So 500 LYK coins translate to $10 that you can pay for your Netflix subscription, perhaps.
The LYK app is available on both iPhone and Android. Chakraborty says 500,000 people are LYK globally, most of them in India and the Philippines.
“You can make phone calls, you can do audio, and video calling,” he said. “It is similar to any other social platform. But you can do things you cannot on Facebook. For example, you can create an invisible connection on LYK.” He cites the example of how one can stay connected with an earlier boss through such an invisible connection without the existing boss being aware of it. Chakraborty has a patent on this technology.
As the old social media gets shaken, with privacy concerns suddenly becoming so vital to people, the New York-based Chakraborty now hopes to use the opportunity to expand his base further.
