Another one bites the dust!
Social media apps come and go, often failing to live up to outlandish claims about privacy, changing the world, and not running ads. But some survive.
Last year, we published a blog about social media sites to check out in 2023. In said blog post, we looked at seven interesting social media sites—Bluesky, WeAre8, Octi, HalloApp, Honk, Polywork, and Poparazzi.
A lot can change in a year, especially in the world of social media. And while some of the social media sites we mentioned are still going strong or have changed direction, others haven’t faired too well.
Let’s examine how many of those promising social media sites still exist today.
Bluesky
Does it still exist? Yes.
Bluesky, a promising Twitter competitor, is still going strong in 2024. They just released their 2023 Moderation Report, and it’s an interesting read.
Our verdict: With X being a dumpster fire and Threads still trying to figure out what it wants to be, we’re pulling for Bluesky.
WeAre8
Does it still exist? Yes.
WeAre8 is the “world’s first B-Corp social media app,” and the platform just signed a content partnership with BBC Studios to publish content for BBC Earth.
According to WeAre8, they “share 60% of our advertising revenue back with people, charity and in support of the planet.”
Our verdict: It’s still a cool idea, and it looks like they’re making positive moves. However, it’s still unclear how popular the platform is.
Octi
Does it still exist? No.
Octi.com leads directly to 404 page.
If you head to the old Octi X page, you’ll see that the app is now something called Ultraviolet Club, an app for creators where you can build “a community where you can earn money and offer your members VIP access into your world while elevating your own.”
Our verdict: Octi is dead, and we don’t feel confident about Ultraviolet Club.
HalloApp
Does it still exist? Technically, yes.
When HalloApp was launched by former WhatsApp employees, started with an admiral dream: to be an ad-free social media site.
Described as “ A simple, safe, and private place to connect and share what matters in your life, with the people who matter to you. Real life. In complete privacy.”
While HalloApp still technically exists, the signs aren’t looking great. The r/HalloApp subreddit has just 19 members and hasn’t had a new post in over a year, and their blog hasn’t been updated since April 4, 2022.
Our verdict: Another one for the social media site graveyard.
Honk
Does it still exist? No.
While the existence of their website might fool you, it’s all over for Honk.
Following the acquisition of its parent company, Honk issued the following sunset statement:
“To our community,
Following the acquisition of our parent company in November 2023, Honk has been discontinued and will no longer receive updates.
Since launching, Honk has held a special place in many people’s hearts and provided new, exciting ways to communicate and make friends. We facilitated over 2.6 billion characters typed, 170 million Honks made, and hundreds of millions of combined images, audio and videos sent. We worked hard to build a beautiful, unique experience and bring an element of delight into people’s lives all around the world.
We’ve had a blast creating Honk and want to thank all of you for giving us a chance and being such a kind, engaged community along the way. Thank you for all the honks.”
Our verdict: there’s nothing to be said here about this social media site.
Polywork
Does it still exist? Yes, but it’s very different.
Polywork started as a “new kind of professional social network.” Essentially, it was aiming to be a LinkedIn alternative. However, in 2024, Polywork has shifted its focus towards, you guessed it, AI.
We can’t call this one a social media site anymore. Polywork now turns your LinkedIn profile into a “beautiful personal website in seconds with AI.”
Our verdict: it isn’t going to blow you away. However, as long as your LinkedIn profile is accurate and fleshed out, it’s actually pretty cool.
Poparazzi
Does it still exist? No.
It was a short run for Poparazzi, with the app pulling up stumps in mid-2023.
Does it still exist? A social media app that didn’t allow selfies? It was a nice idea, but we’re not surprised this one failed.
Final thoughts
Social media is a competitive space. It’s also a limited space. It’s hard to reinvent the wheel.
While many startups promise to revolutionise social media, it’s difficult not to take a cynical approach to an industry that typically boils down to serving users ads or dying.
Intentions are great. We’d all love a social media site that is private, ad-free and doesn’t collect our data. That dream, however, is just that—a dream.
Maybe 2024 will be the year, right?
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