Bring the mask and talk

Analysis conclusion:

Anonymous social networking is rapidly warming up in niche circles, but it lacks the potential to reach the mass market. Product maturity and form are still in the exploratory stage.

2, people's speech more freedom, but also more stimulating and unscrupulous;

3, fake news, defamation and malicious attacks is a chronic illness plaguing anonymous social;

Preface · Bring the mask and talk

People have finally found a place where they can spread all kinds of unconfirmed news, complain about the shortcomings of the company and their colleagues, stingy stingy boss boss, expressed concern about the derailment of the other half ......

Even if you are not a person who is willing to speak, it is only a matter of "stimulating" to watch these eye-catching messages.

Everything here is anonymous, stress-free and even unscrupulous.

Anonymous social networking: this year's new topic

Mainstream social applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, WeChat and Weibo, are firmly in the mainstream. However, those dream-beloved entrepreneurs still choose to conduct more experiments from different perspectives and provide users with differentiated social elements. If last year's theme was Snapchat-led private social, then this year's topic is anonymous social representations, such as Secret.

In the country, there has never been a lack of participants in keeping up with the trend of new products, whether it is the "secret" launched by the non-invasive team or the "secret circle" that YY was launched shortly before.

The Anonymous Social Products team is convinced that users not only need to socialize publicly in real terms, but they also need a more free and stress-free anonymous sharing circle. However, creating a truly successful product under a new social rule is not easy. They are far more challenged than they enjoyed.

Second, product inspection: There is no market leader

Since the launch of Secret in January this year, which has caught the attention of the market, the anonymous social area has quickly become the target of many foreign new products.

At present, the main anonymous feature products can be divided into two categories according to the product form, one is an anonymous state sharing application represented by Secret and Whisper, and the other is an anonymous chat application represented by Rumr. If you follow the sharing of crowd classification, but also can be divided into pure strangers social and acquaintances mixed strangers anonymous social.

The main representative products are as follows:

Secret: On-line at the end of January 2014; After users import the phone contacts, they will see all kinds of anonymous messages released by contacts. Since the sender's name is not displayed, the user can not know who the sender of the information is. Active user groups and more concentrated in science and technology circles. Social applications ranked 127th.

Whisper: On-line in April 2012. In addition to sharing their thoughts anonymously, users can also find anonymous content posted on the product's homepage by the latest, most popular and nearby people posted by strangers. Most users are young people aged 18 to 24. Social Applications ranked 24th.

Rumr: On-line in March 2014; anonymous group chat applications, users join the chat group are anonymous, although the members of the group members list will be displayed, but chatting only in different colors on behalf of each person, everyone I do not know who the spokesman is. Social application list ranked 195.

Omegle: Launched in June 2009; chatting with strangers anonymously chatting, anonymous random users and product launches. The product does not take the free route, paid for $ 0.99, ranking paid social applications list first.

Yik Yak: Available November 2013; geographically based anonymous sharing app allows users to see the status of nearby anonymous postings on the home page. The user base is mainly concentrated in campus students. Social Applications ranked 28th.

Wut: On-line in January 2014; Anonymous sharing based on Facebook friends chain application, unless the sender is identified, or friends can not know the sender identity: social applications list ranked 1300.

PopCorn Messaging: On-line In October 2013, users can anonymously chat with people within a kilometer distance; social applications ranked 1100.

Domestic anonymous social applications and more focused on the Secret or Whisper and other anonymous share the state-based products, seldom imitate anonymous chat products.

Third, characteristics: a small minority, hidden, sensitive

Many of the above anonymous social applications have different functions, in addition to emphasizing that users do not need to provide their true identity, but also focus on some of the product features:

There is no identity

The relationship between users in the anonymous social product chain is extremely loose. Anonymous social products often require social behaviors that result from the removal of an individual's identity, as opposed to the "people" focused chain of mainstream social products. Users are more motivated in their products focused on the specific content of the information itself, whether it is to share their own information, or concerned about the information shared by others. It emphasizes that the content created by social products puts higher requirements on the content operation of products.

2. Emphasize privacy protection

The importance of anonymity is to provide users with a safer space to share, so it does not disclose the true identity of the user, protecting the privacy of the user is a universal emphasis on such products. In order to achieve this goal, each product has different settings in terms of functions, such as randomly assigning nicknames to users, and anonymous chatting applications change different chatting color blocks to protect users. But it is noteworthy that, if the user's behavior violates the relevant provisions of the law, the product is also stated in the privacy section, will cooperate with the relevant departments to provide data.

3. Function is simple and intuitive

As anonymous social applications are still in the early stages of development, product function settings and models are relatively simple and intuitive, but also far from evolving into a mature product form. For example, Secret only provides comments and sharing functions. Although Whisper has pictures to enrich the sharing of content, there are not many derivative functions yet, and only pay for private messages.

4 users limited to niche

As you can see from the general ranking of anonymous social applications, even products such as Secret, which are repeatedly reported by the media, still have a low profile in the public. Part of the application of the user base also remain in a small area of ​​young people or campus user groups. As the need for anonymous sharing exists only in a limited demand scenario, it is a big challenge for anyone to really move to a larger user base.

5. Content and topic sensitive

Anonymity removes the burden of the real identity of users, but also more prone to personal attacks, lies and a variety of pornographic information. Therefore, all kinds of anonymous social products want to maintain a long-term life, need to use various ways to prevent themselves from becoming the production of malicious information on the soil.

Fourth, the trend: Difficult to distinguish authenticity, can not escape accountability

It is the consensus of all non-mainstream social products that people's social channels are not merely content with mainstream social products. Stranger social, photo social, private social, anonymous social networking are all representatives after another wave of rise.

Anonymous social is not a new product born out of thin air. Anonymous messages on a variety of graffiti walls, if we classify them from a wider perspective, are a manifestation of anonymous social life in real life. Secret co-founder Bito even do not think they are doing anonymous applications, he wants users to show their personality in the new social products, different aspects of identity, perhaps the user displays the Facebook side, but in other social products Can show the other side.

From the demand perspective, the emergence of anonymous social products in line with market needs. But a series of products is facing the problem, who can create a truly dynamic product form? Existing products also need to continue to make what kind of upgrade? If only in the current state, apparently still can not form enough huge market influence.

The next question to consider will gradually evolve into the following categories:

1. Do not "people" as the chain, how to build sticky?

In traditional social products, the "people" as the chain of relationships easier to solve each user's personalized content needs. But anonymous applications do not have "people" or just people with unclear relationships, so how do users get what they want to see? For example, some users do not like to see other people to share the chores, and some people do not like to see emotional catharsis, when the user is hard to see what you want, the product's vitality will be shorter.

2. In addition to "sex" and "scandal," what is the use of the product?

It has been concluded that Secret's mainstream content is divided into two types: Sex and Silicon Valley. In order to solve this problem, Secret has pushed a large number of positive energy content to the user. But push the machine really solve the social sharing of a single problem? The question behind this is whether the social rules themselves have problems and how to make anonymous social products useful as well, which is also a fundamental issue that involves product logic.

3. Where is the commercial space?

Anonymous social products are difficult to copy the traditional social product advertising model, so most of the products easier to value-added services. However, this direction requires that the product's internal settings have more room for extension or that the product itself is more mature, which places higher demands on the user's scale and viscosity of the product.

Earlier comments said that anonymous social networking is only a shallow attempt to socialize. There is still a long way to go before the existing product is truly successful.

4, how to avoid legal risks

This is a sword hanging over all anonymous social applications. Relative to the real life of the network platform, it would have been more free natural attributes, and anonymous social is to enlarge this degree of freedom to an unprecedented extent. People can show "a more real ego" on top, but with the spread of negative emotions, tufts and malicious attacks, it has also become a hotbed of rumors and defamation.

Although some anonymous social applications provide whistle-blowing capabilities, such mechanisms still can not fundamentally suppress the irresponsible behavior of "anonymity." For anonymous social, how to balance the relationship between freedom and responsibility in product design and management should be an urgent problem to be solved. (On this issue: Wang Xin)