Hi there,
My name is Marianna Grillo, and my partner, Robert, and I are the visionaries who built Wudcha.
I was born and raised in Sicily. Although Mazara, my hometown, has over 70,000 inhabitants, our sense of community is incredibly rooted in our culture. I had the happiest childhood, filled with riding bikes around my neighborhood, taking road trips with friends and family, or sailing our boat from the picturesque Arabic harbor of Mazara del Vallo to the islands just a few miles off our coast, or to the exotic nearby shores of Africa.
During the early 2000s, I witnessed the social media revolution with the advent of the iPhone and later Facebook, along with other tools that were initially intended to reconnect people. I remember the excitement of meeting friends and relatives living abroad, and the joy of being able to visually connect with our loved ones when they were away for study or work.
Unfortunately, we have noticed a dystopian paradox slowly unfolding. At first, people stopped attending events. Then friends became profiles, and communities dissolved into hashtags, likes, and mere virtual visibility. Those who genuinely wanted to help, create, and collaborate became distracted from life and the opportunities around them, including their own families.
After completing my studies in veterinary medicine, I worked as a freelance vet for over 10 years in my country, constantly struggling with the second contradiction of social media. While we view those platforms as tools for advertising, I struggled with my business Facebook page to find organic and local customers, promote my services, and advocate for animal rights, all while seeking volunteers to rescue the voiceless. Even though I paid for expensive ads to boost my posts, I couldn’t effectively promote my services. The ads were being shown miles away, and I ended up wasting time responding to calls from people searching for entirely different services in distant areas.
On the other side of the world, when I first met him in 2019, Robert was experiencing another side of this crisis. As a disabled veteran with exceptional talent in writing, storytelling, and cinematic composition, and a natural inclination for social connection, he struggled with social media’s inability to connect him with other creatives, venues, and producers.
Our partnership began immediately, driven by frustration with this dual-sided crisis. Individuals were more isolated, depressed, unheard, and unseen than ever, and businesses were experiencing empty venues and disconnected customers. We quickly realized that the same purpose was driving both of us: to fix what social media broke.
Over the last few years, we have also recognized another sharp corner of the current crisis: the rise of AI technology replacing human jobs. Forbes predicts that by 2030, 92 million Americans will be replaced by AI tools. This is a deeply alarming reality that concerns Robert, our team, and our supporters worldwide, including me.
Wudcha stands for “would you” in Southern slang, which fits perfectly with Robert’s Louisiana roots. It is a quest to break free from social media addiction and take back our lives.
Nobody wants to be manipulated or brainwashed by an algorithm. Still, here we are, stuck to our screens, lured into political, religious, or other conversations that disturb our peace. These lead to sterile arguments and unsatisfying disputes that drain our energy and happiness, dividing us more with each passing day, while keeping us glued to our displays for hours and disconnected from real life.
That is why Wudcha was born. It is not just an app but a movement that exists to make it easier to gather, meet, organize, offer, ask, and take action.
Wudcha is a universal platform. We will be able to fill our venues, hire certified and reliable people, and find gigs and jobs without paying for expensive apps like LinkedIn or Indeed. We can find homes or post home deals without the high commissions of platforms like Zillow or Realtor. We can see and organize events around us using geolocation and a meaningful calendar, among other features.
Every time two people meet through it, whether to plan a concert, a class, a fundraiser, or take a walk together, something powerful happens.
We reclaim the human web.
We reclaim the right to be genuinely seen and heard.
We reclaim ourselves.
This is just the beginning. Every Monday, we’ll share stories, tools, and truths here on Wudcha Voice. If you feel this ache too—the ache to reconnect—we invite you to stay with us.
We’re building something magical,
Together.
Your voice is your power. Don’t let it vanish.
With love,
Marianna Grillo
Co-founder of Wudcha