A different kind of social network
Many social networks become a popularity contest. People want to gain a big audience to broadcast whatever message they want to share.
What if a social network reflected your real life network and acted as a rolodex for your life? What if you were limited in the number of connections you could have on the network to force you to make choices that matter?
You don't need to be connected to that guy from high school that you barely knew. You probably don't really care about the new baby that he and his wife just had.
If a social network protected you from spammy people by limiting the number connections you could have, that would go a long way to make your real social network more meaningful.
But we can go further! Let's cap the number of connection requests someone can make too! If requests to connect are as limited as the actual connections, then those annoying recruiters will think twice before trying to add you to their network.
This is the vision behind this social network. I want to create a network full of real connections to people that you really care about.
- The maximum number of connections is 500.
For this concept to work, there has to be a ceiling. The choice here is arbitrary and based on zero scientific research, but 500 is a nice round number that seems reasonable.
- Connection requests count as part of the total 500 connections.
The network should have real connection between people that really have some kind of relationship with each other.
If you're that annoying person who tries to connect to people that you don't know to selfishly boost your reach, this social network will hold that against you.
A connection request can transition between a few states:
- Pending -> Sent: A invitation requested by you is sent out via email to the other person.
- Sent -> Accepted: You've made a real connection and the other person accepted.
- Sent -> Rejected: You tried to connect to someone and they didn't want to connect. That means you burned 1 of your 500 possible connections.
- Sent -> Expired: You tried to connect to someone and they didn't respond. Guess what? That probably means they didn't want to connect, but they maybe didn't want to hurt your feelings. That still means you burned 1 of your 500 possible connections.
- Existing connections can be burned but not severed.
Break-ups happen. Sometimes relationships fall apart for different reasons. The connection to that person is permanent, but you can burn it so they can never be part of your network again.
A burned connection counts as part of the 500. Why? If connections can be severed, the system can be easily gamed. A connection in real life can be a sad/bad memory, but it was still part of life. Connection in the network should reflect that too.
These rules are all intended to create a tension. The rules exist to force people to make choices with significance.
All information is private by default (in contrast to Facebook)
Access control / permissions:
- Inner circle (full visibility)
- Middle circle
- Outer circle (connections default to the outer circle)
Field example:
- Email: inner circle, middle circle, !outer circle
Two types of people that you would invite.
- People that already have accounts.
Connection request would count against the total.
- People that don't have an account.
Use an invitation flow that doesn't impact the total.
- Branding (icon design) - Fiverr ($25 - $50)
- Domain name - $30/year
- Hosting - $7/month
- Email - SendGrid - (free for 100 emails/day)
MVP startup cost (worst case) == 50 + 30 + 7 = $87