from Hacker News

Ask HN: How do you consider the current social web trend among startups?

by matteodepalo on 2/13/13, 5:52 PM with 6 comments

Currently the focus of many startups is on sharing life experiences. Foursquare, Instagram, Vine are all great examples of this. Do you think that this kind of ideas are among the organic ones PG describes in one of his essays [1]? Did the founders that started Instagram feel the need to share their photos with all the world? Many startups are following this trend, so something must be going on, but my guts tell me that it will pass because it's not tapping in our real needs, but just exploiting the rise of the mobile phone as a medium.

[1](http://www.paulgraham.com/organic.html)

  • by 6thSigma on 2/13/13, 6:20 PM

    Foursquare started because Dennis Crowley wanted an application where he could share his location to his friends and have them meet up with him.

    Instagram started because Kevin Systrom's current app was mostly being used to broadcast photos so he pivoted. He also had experience in photography which led to the photo filters being a key addition to the product.

    I don't know enough about Vine to comment, but Foursquare and Instagram both provide a ton of consumer value. Based on how they tell the stories of their origins, it seems they were also "organic."

    Lastly, social is not a trend; in fact I believe it is in its infancy.

  • by sharemywin on 2/13/13, 6:31 PM

    Sharing/communicating information/experiences/ideas will always be. And the tools to do it will change and adapt to technology. Google glasses will probably have an impact. Tablets are already having an impact. Surface tablets, e-ink, gestures will impact. Photos(moments in time), music, opinions, videos all need shared in the future too.