Nice insights, and love the visualizations too! I agree on your overall notes for the impact and social thinking around hobby apps.. but the one thing I think is an overwhelming win is that we diversify the communities in which we exist. Which happens with any app tbh, but hobby apps create accessible platforms that allow ppl to spew opinions, and what better way for us to insert our lil egos at others curiosities?
In other news - your restaurant list is highly questionable besides Aga’s.. I invite you to try Rosita’s for good tacos in Austin next time.
super valid feeback - i used to live in austin and suerte and veracruz have emotional ties for me. i dream of veracruz's migas taco, cant find a good one in nyc yet. agas is also goated.
I love this post, i feel like this is the undercurrent of consumer tech that everyone is missing while obsessing over AI generated crap. I do think some companies may boom and bust due to venture funding. These hobby apps are niche as you point out, I remember the Letterboxd CEO pointing out that many VC backed alternatives came and then died over time... so a big point to me is how these "niche" software apps are financed and take care of their communities versus trying to exploit them.
Right, I think beyond the AI buzz this is just a fundamental layer that I've noticed is underpinning it all. It's interesting Letterboxd didn't really take off till the pandemic around 2020, but it has been around for a while and mimics the same kind of functionality beli offers. I would be super curious to explore more on the financing piece, that would complete the analysis fully from a vc perspective!
Yes I agree its quite interesting, i worry that Beli will have to grow to satisfy their investors since they'ved raised a ton of capital and pursue a "mass-market" user base that will likely alienate the core hype users over time. In many of the podcasts I've listened to from the CEO of Letterboxd one of the key insights was their ability to grow slowly and preserve the community that led it to what it is today. I also think its interesting that they use a subscription model which seems to align their users as their customers (as opposed to advertisers being the customers which then leads to all the same issues with FB/IG etc). As someone who was a former VC i saw a lot of niche consumer apps mistakenly raised venture capital (strava probably being the most famous one).. happy to collab on it more.
Very interesting. I think Beli is going down that path as well, but I would like them focus more on the community they have built already. It would be great to connect and potentially collab on a piece if you're interested - I'll shoot you a message!
your post reminded me of @222place! have you heard of it? Its kind of like an app that hosts community events and brings people together in LA and NY- i want to say more cities. I signed up but have yet to go to an event.
Clearly I've been living under a rock because I haven't heard of these hobby apps other than BeReal. I wonder what it's like to have too many of these apps...they sound better suited for people who like to compartmentalize parts of their life. If it's simply about connection with others, there are dating and friendship apps in existence.
I think that having too many leads you to use all of them less, but it's definitely "in" right now. It'll be interesting to see how these apps do long term!
Yesss I love Pranakhon! It's a great one. I actually don’t love soothr as much anymore lol, but I used it because I felt like more people could relate. I recently tried Tha Phraya in UES last week and it was super good too!
your note that "people are status-seeking monkeys" is interesting and puts into words what i dislike most about these apps. they all feel so gamified/competitive, but i wonder if you can have a successful app without that aspect.
I think hobby apps are both good and bad. They allow you to connect with communities you want to or are a part of. It allows you to segment certain friends in and out of certain areas of your life.
Like you said, you don’t want everyone seeing that you just ran 8 miles because you don’t want to be ‘that person’ but you’re proud of the run and you want your gym friends to see that.
This is the part I think is good and bad. It’s good to connect with all of your friends on things you love to do even if they don’t love to do the same activity.
What’s bad, is that because of social media, we’ve allowed our social circles to be way too big to the point we feel vulnerable in our own social circle.
agreed, i think the larger issue at hand is that we feel vulernable because social circles are so large, especially on the apps we use the most. that's why i like instagram's "close friends" feature and i think that was their way of leaning into the issue.
i remember being highly motivated by bereal in the beginning but when your routine is more or less the same, it kinda feels boring to show off you reading or writing or at work when nothing important is happening, which i guess is the point of the app but at some point like you said it becomes a chore. a friend of mine still uses it and apparently now you can appload multiple times a day whenever you feel like it which is just another app for insta stories, like you said, a massive flop if i've ever seen one
I’m an app developer and this piece is gonna stick in my head for awhile. My brain (and naturally the features I build) has always leaned more towards utility. But hearing the social aspect communicated as “status as a service” changes my entire mental modal. You’ve given me a lot to think about!! Thank you!!
Nice insights, and love the visualizations too! I agree on your overall notes for the impact and social thinking around hobby apps.. but the one thing I think is an overwhelming win is that we diversify the communities in which we exist. Which happens with any app tbh, but hobby apps create accessible platforms that allow ppl to spew opinions, and what better way for us to insert our lil egos at others curiosities?
In other news - your restaurant list is highly questionable besides Aga’s.. I invite you to try Rosita’s for good tacos in Austin next time.
super valid feeback - i used to live in austin and suerte and veracruz have emotional ties for me. i dream of veracruz's migas taco, cant find a good one in nyc yet. agas is also goated.
I love this post, i feel like this is the undercurrent of consumer tech that everyone is missing while obsessing over AI generated crap. I do think some companies may boom and bust due to venture funding. These hobby apps are niche as you point out, I remember the Letterboxd CEO pointing out that many VC backed alternatives came and then died over time... so a big point to me is how these "niche" software apps are financed and take care of their communities versus trying to exploit them.
Right, I think beyond the AI buzz this is just a fundamental layer that I've noticed is underpinning it all. It's interesting Letterboxd didn't really take off till the pandemic around 2020, but it has been around for a while and mimics the same kind of functionality beli offers. I would be super curious to explore more on the financing piece, that would complete the analysis fully from a vc perspective!
Yes I agree its quite interesting, i worry that Beli will have to grow to satisfy their investors since they'ved raised a ton of capital and pursue a "mass-market" user base that will likely alienate the core hype users over time. In many of the podcasts I've listened to from the CEO of Letterboxd one of the key insights was their ability to grow slowly and preserve the community that led it to what it is today. I also think its interesting that they use a subscription model which seems to align their users as their customers (as opposed to advertisers being the customers which then leads to all the same issues with FB/IG etc). As someone who was a former VC i saw a lot of niche consumer apps mistakenly raised venture capital (strava probably being the most famous one).. happy to collab on it more.
Very interesting. I think Beli is going down that path as well, but I would like them focus more on the community they have built already. It would be great to connect and potentially collab on a piece if you're interested - I'll shoot you a message!
your post reminded me of @222place! have you heard of it? Its kind of like an app that hosts community events and brings people together in LA and NY- i want to say more cities. I signed up but have yet to go to an event.
I haven't yet but that is super interesting! It looks like a cool concept, I wonder how it'll play out.
Clearly I've been living under a rock because I haven't heard of these hobby apps other than BeReal. I wonder what it's like to have too many of these apps...they sound better suited for people who like to compartmentalize parts of their life. If it's simply about connection with others, there are dating and friendship apps in existence.
I think that having too many leads you to use all of them less, but it's definitely "in" right now. It'll be interesting to see how these apps do long term!
Excellent insights!
Thanks!
Okay I loooove soothr but have you tried pranakhon Thai? Also insanely good and in the same area!!!!
Yesss I love Pranakhon! It's a great one. I actually don’t love soothr as much anymore lol, but I used it because I felt like more people could relate. I recently tried Tha Phraya in UES last week and it was super good too!
your note that "people are status-seeking monkeys" is interesting and puts into words what i dislike most about these apps. they all feel so gamified/competitive, but i wonder if you can have a successful app without that aspect.
The status part correlates to the gamification of the apps in my mind! I think without gamifying it I’m less likely to use it.
I think hobby apps are both good and bad. They allow you to connect with communities you want to or are a part of. It allows you to segment certain friends in and out of certain areas of your life.
Like you said, you don’t want everyone seeing that you just ran 8 miles because you don’t want to be ‘that person’ but you’re proud of the run and you want your gym friends to see that.
This is the part I think is good and bad. It’s good to connect with all of your friends on things you love to do even if they don’t love to do the same activity.
What’s bad, is that because of social media, we’ve allowed our social circles to be way too big to the point we feel vulnerable in our own social circle.
agreed, i think the larger issue at hand is that we feel vulernable because social circles are so large, especially on the apps we use the most. that's why i like instagram's "close friends" feature and i think that was their way of leaning into the issue.
i remember being highly motivated by bereal in the beginning but when your routine is more or less the same, it kinda feels boring to show off you reading or writing or at work when nothing important is happening, which i guess is the point of the app but at some point like you said it becomes a chore. a friend of mine still uses it and apparently now you can appload multiple times a day whenever you feel like it which is just another app for insta stories, like you said, a massive flop if i've ever seen one
right, i think on principle it has nothing to offer and always was going to be a trendy app. but, i guess it was fun while it lasted.
Where does substack rank in this
good point.. that would be a meta post
this is so real, definitely feel like secondhand shopping apps (poshmark/depop) could be thrown in this mix too
I’m an app developer and this piece is gonna stick in my head for awhile. My brain (and naturally the features I build) has always leaned more towards utility. But hearing the social aspect communicated as “status as a service” changes my entire mental modal. You’ve given me a lot to think about!! Thank you!!