Can Social Apps Heal Social Media’s Damage?
▼ Summary
– Twitter’s Biz Stone and Pinterest’s Evan Sharp have secured new funding for their social media startup, West Co.
– The company has raised $29 million in a seed round led by Spark Capital.
– West Co’s first app, Tangle, launched an invite-only version in November and focuses on user intention and goal-sharing.
– CEO Evan Sharp stated the company aims to address negative impacts on mental well-being from the last 15 years of social media.
– Co-founder Biz Stone noted the app’s concept may evolve significantly before its full public launch.
A new social venture from two prominent tech founders aims to tackle the negative psychological impacts of modern platforms. Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter, and Evan Sharp, co-founder of Pinterest, have secured $29 million in seed funding for their startup, West Co. The funding round was led by Spark Capital, signaling strong investor interest in their alternative vision for social connectivity.
The company has begun testing its first application, named Tangle, through an invite-only release that started last November. While still in a formative stage, the app represents a direct response to the founders’ critique of the industry they helped build. Sharp, who serves as West Co’s CEO, framed the company’s mission around a fundamental question. He asked what could be constructed to help address the considerable damage inflicted on mental and emotional well-being over the past decade and a half by existing social media.
Tangle’s initial approach focuses on fostering mindful engagement rather than passive scrolling. Upon opening the app, users are prompted with a simple question: “What’s your intention for today?” The design encourages people to share personal goals with their friends. The underlying hope is that this practice will help individuals plan with greater purpose, authentically document their daily experiences, and recognize the broader patterns that give their lives meaning.
Stone emphasized that Tangle is very much a work in progress and may undergo substantial changes before any public launch. He indicated that the current version is a starting point, with the final product likely to evolve based on early user feedback and testing. This experimental phase is common for startups seeking to refine a novel concept, especially one attempting to shift user behavior away from the dopamine-driven cycles of traditional social feeds.
The substantial seed investment provides West Co with significant resources to develop its vision. Details gleaned from regulatory documents and job listings suggest the company is actively building its team to support this ambitious project. The move by Stone and Sharp reflects a growing sentiment within the tech industry that the current model of social media requires a fundamental rethink, prioritizing user well-being over sheer engagement metrics. Whether Tangle can successfully translate this intention into a sustainable and popular platform remains to be seen, but its founding premise highlights a critical conversation about the future of digital interaction.
(Source: TechCrunch)
