Personal social networking is making a comeback. gratitude plusA startup that aims to shift social media in a more positive direction is expanding its wellness-focused, personal reflection journal, including support for families who want to stay in touch even when they’re physically apart. Are.
The startup, whose name reflects its core offering of a gratitude journal, is in some ways reminiscent of The path that was created years ago, Path emerged as a Facebook challenger by creating a space for small groups of people to interact with each other over a short period of time. The app set itself apart by limiting users to only 50 friends, ensuring that their interactions would remain limited in scope compared to larger social networks.
For a time, Path took hold, and though it never toppled Facebook, it stood out as an example of how private social networks could work, if executed correctly. (The company had raised too much venture funding to return on its investment without an exit, So Path was sold to Kakao of Korea in 2015,
Likewise, Gratitude Plus is not meant to be used with a wide audience. Instead, it encourages users to establish healthy relationships and better mental wellness habits by providing a space for journaling, mood tracking, and keeping in touch with family and friends through small, private “circles” within its app. .
“I designed it in a very simple way,” says Daniel Schaefer, NYC-based founder and app developer. “I wanted people to feel like they were writing in a beautiful journal.”
When opened, the app prompts you to journal by asking a simple question: List three things you’re grateful for today. You can also turn the prompt into other suggestions, like “What made you smile today?”, “What are you looking forward to today?” and others, or you can write your own. Journaling reminders can also be set to shuffle mode so you can get a new one every day. You can optionally include photos to illustrate their reactions.
But unlike a private diary, your answers to the app’s prompts are shared with a private group, like your family members, close friends, or even a partner.
“When I talk to users, they love that this is an app where they can spend a minute or two reflecting on their day,” Schaefer said.
Schaefer says she was inspired to create Gratitude Plus after her mother died. His journey with grief led him to seek more accessible mental health tools, he says, and inspired him to create a wellness platform that people could use to connect with their friends and family in a more positive and personal way. Can to stay. Traditional social media. He is not alone in his search for this type of equipment; Another startup founded by widows, Denew, offers a social platform people dealing with grief and traumaFor example.
However, with Gratitude Plus, the focus is not on fixing suffering, but on maintaining the relationships that matter in the present.
With the new family plan launching on Mother’s Day (Sunday), up to four members can share a premium membership of $74.99 per year.
In addition to personal networking, a community feed, powered by anonymous shares from individual users, also lets you see how others in the app’s broader community are feeling that day. Users can interact with these posts by leaving hearts or messages of support. About 50% of the app’s users share anonymously on the feed, Schaefer said.
“People feel really good when they are supporting other people. It’s one of those magical things, that if you go here, and if you’re in a negative mindset, you’ll send some messages to people and you’ll feel better,” he says. “Many people say it’s like a positive social network.”
Gratitude Plus encourages daily habits with features like push notifications and streaks, but Schaefer thinks its bigger appeal comes from the people you use the app with: family, friends, a partner, a child and Others with whom you are interested in interacting. Some subgroups of users are also posting on the app with a broader group of friends, like in a dorm or at school, or even among a group of fellow YC founders, for example.
Schaefer plans to add more mental wellness tools to the app, like meditation, breathing work, and others.
The freemium app has more than 10,000 users today, of which 650 are on a paid subscription plan that provides access to more features,
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