Non-public social networking is making a comeback. Gratitude Plus, a startup that goals to shift social media in a extra optimistic route, is increasing its wellness-focused, private reflections journal to incorporate assist for households who need to keep in contact even when bodily distant.
The startup, whose identify displays its core providing of a gratitude journal, is, in some methods paying homage to Path, which was constructed years in the past. Path had briefly emerged as a Fb challenger by creating an area for smaller teams of individuals to work together with each other. The app differentiated itself by limiting customers to simply 50 buddies, guaranteeing their interactions would stay in tighter circles than on bigger social networks.
For a time, Path caught on, and whereas it by no means toppled Fb, it stood out for instance of how non-public social networks may work, if executed appropriately. (The corporate had raised an excessive amount of enterprise funding to return on its funding with out an exit, so Path offered to Korea’s Kakao in 2015.)
Equally, Gratitude Plus is just not meant for use with a large viewers. As a substitute, it encourages customers to determine more healthy relationships and higher psychological wellness habits by providing an area for journaling, temper monitoring,and staying in contact with household and buddies via small, non-public “circles” inside its app.
“I designed it to be very simple,” says NYC-based founder and app developer Daniel Shaffer. “I wanted people to feel like they’re writing in an elegant journal.”
When opened, the app prompts you to journal by asking a easy query: Listing three belongings you’re grateful for at the moment. You may as well change the immediate to different options, like “What made you smile today?,” “What are you looking forward to today?,” and others, or you may write your individual. The journaling reminders may also be set to shuffle mode so you will get a brand new one day-after-day. You possibly can optionally embrace pictures for instance their responses, as properly.
However not like a non-public diary, your solutions to the app’s prompts are supposed to be shared with a non-public group, like your loved ones members, shut buddies or perhaps a accomplice.
“When I talked to users, they love that this is an app that they can spend a minute or two reflecting on their day,” Shaffer mentioned.
Shaffer says he was impressed to construct Gratitude Plus after his mom died. His journey with grief had him searching for out extra accessible psychological well being instruments, he says, and pushed him to construct a wellness platform that individuals may use with their very own family and friends to remain in contact in a extra optimistic and private approach than is feasible via conventional social media. He’s not alone in searching for out these kinds of instruments; one other startup based by widows, DayNew, provides a social platform for individuals coping with grief and trauma, for instance.
With Gratitude Plus, nevertheless, the main focus is just not on therapeutic grief, essentially, however on sustaining the relationships that matter within the current.
With the brand new household plan launching on Mom’s Day (Sunday), as much as 4 members can share a premium subscription for $74.99 per yr.
Along with non-public networking, a neighborhood feed, powered by nameless shares from particular person customers, additionally enables you to see how others throughout the app’s wider neighborhood are feeling that day. Customers can work together with these posts by leaving hearts or messages of assist. Round 50% of the app’s customers share anonymously to the feed, Shaffer mentioned.
“People feel really good when they’re supporting other people. That’s one of the magic things, is that if you go on here, and if you’re in a negative mindset, you’ll send a couple of messages to people and you’re going to feel better,” he says. “A lot of people say it’s like a positive social network.”
Gratitude Plus encourages each day habits with options like push notifications and streaks, however Shaffer thinks its bigger draw comes from the individuals you utilize the app with: household, buddies, a accomplice, a toddler, and others who you’re thinking about interacting with. Some subset of customers are additionally posting to the app with a broader set of buddies, like these in a dorm or faculty, and even amongst a bunch of fellow YC founders, for instance.
Shaffer plans so as to add extra psychological wellness instruments to the app, like meditation, breath work and others.
The freemium app at the moment has over 10,000 customers, 650 of whom are on a paid subscription plan that provides entry to extra options,
