Show HN: Snacktime – my attempt at a social app focused on authenticity

Show HN: Snacktime – my attempt at a social app focused on authenticity(snacktime.com)

3 points by rail2rail 4 years ago | 3 comments

rail2rail 4 years ago |

Social media has become inauthentic. My feeds are clogged with people sharing their highlight reel, just the most perfectly framed and staged version of themselves. And that's fine, there is a place for that.

I wanted to build something that aimed to be a little more genuine.

Snacktime is a social app with a twist. At a random time during your day, Snacktime sends an alert. You have just minutes to capture and share the moment you are in.

There's no time to change clothes.

There's no time for infinite takes to get the perfect shot.

There's no time to run to the beach and pose with a dolphin.

Snacktime is raw, it is messy, it is joyous, it can be sad, and it is genuine.

My name is Joe and I’m so happy this thing is finally out in the world. I've been working on it for 3 years, I learned 8 new languages and frameworks, a decent chunk of AWS, culminating in 7 distinct projects and a shocking amount of code written. It is, by far, the largest software endeavor I’ve ever attempted. I can't wait to see how people use it.

Snacktime is currently only available for iPhone. An Android version is coming soon.

derekzhouzhen 4 years ago |

Interesting. It probably only works among close friends. A celebrity don't want to share her messy pictures, and people don't want to see messy pictures from complete strangers.

rail2rail 4 years ago | |

Time will tell I suppose. It depends on your definition of "messy". Life is messy, right? Through that mess we've managed to capture some real beauty too. One user shared the emotion of her college graduation, as it was happening. It wasn't staged, it was what she was doing at that random moment. The top platforms are so... perfect. Everything is choreographed. It's the highlight reel. There is certainly an audience for that and I don't disparage them at all. I believe there is an audience for a more genuine platform too. One where the posts are spontaneous and unfiltered. No one is perfect on Snacktime, and I think that reduces the friction and intimidation I see other social platforms. But if it only gets used to share moments between friends, I'll take that a win. Appreciate your comment, thanks.