No one needs another social network

For about 2 hours this week, I thought I had a GREAT idea for an app.

It was killer and solves a problem I very much have (and thus can assume some number of other people have) and for about 2 hours this weekend I was really revved up about it’s possibilities.  I was set to tackle it head-on this week.  Until I explained it to my friend.

“See it’s like Instagram, but for…” I began and was promptly cut-off.  “There’s your problem straight away” he responded.  “No one needs another social network."

The app idea isn’t dead.  Far from it.  But how I’m approaching it changed dramatically so I thought some of the conversation was worth highlighting here.  Because he’s right- no one needs ANOTHER social network.  But that doesn’t mean apps can’t be social.

The problem is the “set-up” phase.  Whenever an app decides to be “social” it almost always requires building a new network of “friends” inside that app.  It gets messy.  Do I want my “Instagram” friends only to see it, or should I push it to Twitter and Facebook as well?  If I put it on Twitter, there’s no way for my Instagram friends to get it unless we’re friends in both places.  And what if I want to check in on Foursquare AND Yelp at the same time?  It’s a mess.  

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t want one platform for ALL my social interactions.  As in life, there are friends you keep around certain interests that may not be friends in every aspect and the ability to decide where and to whom a post goes is a good thing.  (I’m almost sounding like I’m advocating for Google+ here.  Scary.)  But my point isn’t to try and “fix” social networking.  It’s to build an app that serves a niche.

So the solution I’ve come to (and one many others may want to learn from) is to build the app in a way that makes social “connected, but not required.”  Want to simply use this app for all it’s worth from the moment you open it?  Go ahead.  You don’t have to connect and account or find people to follow.  But if you do, you may have more fun.  And if you want to share your activity to every other platform out there, we’ll make that possible too.  But I’m not thinking of this as a “social-first” app anymore.  And I think that’s a great way to go for a niche interest app.

So for all you developers and future app creators, keep something in mind.  If your pitch begins with “It’s like Twitter for…” or “It’s Facebook, but for…” or anything else like that- take caution.  Those are big gorillas to take on.  Even Google couldn’t pull it off.  I’m not saying don’t- I’m saying to really ask yourself if you need to make a social network, or just plug into them all.  And if it’s the latter, find a better way to pitch it to people.

Because no one needs another social network.