Over time, social media has deviated from its original purpose, which was to serve as a platform for maintaining private connections with close friends and family. Today’s social media apps have transformed into entertainment hubs, brimming with creator-generated content, multimedia, and brand advertisements. In stark contrast, a forthcoming social network called Favs, set to emerge from stealth mode in January, is on a mission to return social networking to its foundational roots by crafting an application that facilitates robust and meaningful interpersonal relationships.
While the precise methodology behind Favs’ endeavor remains shrouded in secrecy, it is notable that the platform intends to forgo common features such as a status update box, a news feed, or an inbox. Favs also diverges from the trend of photo-sharing, a path taken by other newcomers like BeReal.
Instead, Favs aspires to provide a streamlined user experience that does not demand increasingly extensive screen time in pursuit of advertising revenue. As elucidated by co-founder and CEO Saba Karim, previously in a leadership role at Techstars, Favs aims to discourage the perils of endless scrolling and boundless content consumption. Instead, Favs seeks to limit the time users spend within the app.
Karim states, “We aim to limit a user’s time on the app to 10 minutes and encourage them to step away – you’ve completed your daily visit. Return tomorrow to catch up with your friends’ lives. We’re determined not to foster addiction. For many years, social media has wrongly fixated on keeping users glued to screens.”
The Los Angeles-based startup, co-founded by former Meta business engineer Noah Mitsuhashi, has already secured a pre-seed funding round of nearly a million dollars from investors like Sunset Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Scout Fund, and notable angels such as Techstars founder and CEO David Cohen, Hootsuite founder and former CEO Ryan Holmes, among others.
Karim’s inspiration for constructing a new social network stemmed from his five-year stint at the Techstars accelerator, following his previous startup’s acquisition by HubSpot. During his time at Techstars, he observed a burgeoning demand for social networks reorienting their focus towards genuine real-world friendships and connections, as exemplified by platforms like Rex, Moments, Catchup, and Retro.
Karim notes that contemporary social media algorithms are optimized for continuous scrolling, often leading to an abundance of superficial content at the expense of authentic engagement with meaningful connections. While Favs’ precise strategy remains undisclosed, it is clear that the network will emphasize friends’ updates and their real-life activities. It is suggested that Favs may share some broad similarities with apps like Catchup and Moments, possibly employing innovative approaches to reconnecting with friends.
The platform is expected to leverage iPhone’s Dynamic Island and potentially other iOS features but will not heavily rely on consumer-facing AI. Instead, Favs will utilize your contacts to identify your closest connections based on the completeness of their profiles, allowing you to stay updated on their lives, even if they are not active on the app.
Addressing the challenge of attracting users to a novel social network, especially before reaching a critical mass, Favs claims to have devised a unique interaction model that distinguishes it from other social media platforms. Users will not face a sense of emptiness on their first day, even if none of their friends have joined yet.
Monetization is an intriguing aspect of Favs’ strategy. Rather than relying on advertising, Favs intends to offer an alternative business model, one that has elicited mixed reactions from venture capitalists. Despite the controversy, Favs has successfully secured nearly $1 million in pre-seed funding and is already receiving interest for a seed round, scheduled for November, even though it won’t require those funds until the following June.
Currently in a private beta phase, Favs is inviting users to join through its Favs VIP waitlist, with plans to launch publicly in January 2024.
