Restless Native

It may surprise some of you to know that I grapple with social media’s impact on society, as well as the individual. When we first started building GoWild, I read books on the psychology of building a product that was sticky, as the industry calls it. I researched how to make an addictive product. That’s what the Silicon Valley road map for building an app said to do. But as I’ve come to see the impacts of the big players on society, I’ve realized and publicly acknowledged I don’t want to build the next time suck in your life. I’ve always maintained that, but it’s been even more of a focus for me over this year. If you’re an active member on GoWild, you may have noticed some differences in how we’re handling some of those typically addictive aspects of social media. We’re building in notifications that encourage you to help answer questions of people, we’re sharing trophies, which are generally really important moments in your friends’ lives. We’re empowering newbies and veterans alike to be able to tap into