Who is the Anti-Facebook?

Facebook and Google+ GOOG, say hello to a social network that is truly private. Chattertree.com, a new site whose mission is to promote “positive synergy within the core of the modern family,” isn't technically a social network. It has all the components of one – the ability to communicate with others, share photos and videos, participate in video chat, and so on. But because of its focus on privacy, Ryan G. Beale, the founder and CEO of Chattertree, says that the site has been typecast as a private social network. “I think that's how people relate to us,” Beale said. “But it's almost like we're the anti-social network.” Though there has yet to be an official press release on the matter, Beale informed Benzinga that Chattertree has now been certified as a federally compliant site for child privacy. “We just really have been all about giving people and families the tools to enable a private forum outside of their day-to-day [lives] to kind of open up and leave personal messages,” Beale said. “And now we're starting to bring in a lot of educational tools into it as well. So we're really going into teaching families about the family system and about communication. Our goal is to give a holistic approach to family health where by using Chattertree, families will have a deeper connection because of the services we offer and the information and educational tools that we're going to be adding in the next 60 days.” For Beale, Chattertree is more than another community site – it's a way to honor his brother's memory. “I lost my brother to suicide on Christmas Eve 2009,” Beale said. He hopes that Chattertree can provide users with a safe place to open up and share how they're feeling “to prevent a slippery slope from happening.” “My goal with Chattertree has been to help families and individuals that have really gone through a crisis, are dealing with a crisis, and also to prevent a crisis from happening, and promote and empower families and individuals' well being,” Beale said. To help spread Chattertree's mission, the site is currently participating in the Pepsi PEP Refresh Project. “I really thought it was a great initiative that they've come up with – the way that they've kind of repurposed their marketing dollars, so to speak,” Beale explained. “And I liked the business model of making money off of doing something that helps society.” The competition runs through July 31, 2011. Fans can vote now by visiting refresheverything.com/chattertree or by texting 107523 to Pepsi. Building the Tree When creating Chattertree, Beale said that he immediately saw that time was of the essence. “You got all these military families coming home right now,” he said. “They've been through a tremendous amount of stress, and I wanted to create a unique forum that I would have enjoyed going to, and one my brother would have enjoyed going to, and so I came up with the concept of Pure Mental Graffiti.” Starting in the Detroit area, Pure Mental Graffiti is designed to be a series of events, most likely at a comedy club. "From the second you walk in you're going to have to check your ego at the door,” Beale said. “You're gonna walk in and we're gonna start educating people in a humorous tone about things that everybody goes through when life events happen. Because life events – if they're not confronted and they're ignored, they tend to snowball into later issues.” Beale said that he aims to create a very “fun, hip, urban forum and bring comedy, music, and entertainment, along with specialists that work in family psychology, into a venue,” comparing it to a Def Comedy Jam. “So the goal is to do six of these events, and have a final seventh event that would be a fundraiser to launch a national campaign with ultimately the goal to bring the Pure Mental Graffiti forum into school systems,” Beale adds. “That would be the dream vision.” Finally, Beale is amazed that people “don't understand what the family system is.” “Everything has a system,” he said. “Government has a system, a business has a system, a family, too, is a core system within our society.” Follow me @LouisBedigian