‘Like Tinder, but for mums’: the social networks of tomorrow
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Mush has just raised £2m. For a social network, it’s not that famous – but it’s also not alone.
Whilst in this like, share and subscribe decade, a few major social networking platforms are some of the most successful apps out there, Facebook and Twitter do have rivals.
In this blog, we take a look at some of the latest up-and-coming networks which, although niche, hope to be ranked alongside the likes of Tinder, Snapchat, Instagram and more one day.
Mush
Mush, founded two years ago, allows local mums to connect with and meet with each other to share the experiences and challenges that come with motherhood.
The “Tinder for mums” platform matches like-minded mums who have kids of the same age; allows mothers to join local mum groups, suggests local places to meet, and hosts blogs with parenting tips.
Created by mothers Katie Taylor and Sarah Hesz, who met by chance in a playground, the app aims to tackle the loneliness and post-natal depression new mothers often experience.
FreelanceDiary
This app helps freelancers to network, find jobs and make calendar bookings. FreelanceDiary matches freelancers’ availability with the needs of employers, pairing the two as required.
These bookings then appear confidentially in the freelancer’s diary, syncing with Google and Apple calendars.
The app, created by Richard John Jeffs in 2012, aims to be an efficient alternative to the “slow job-posting model” and allows companies to make bookings without the high commissions.
Nattr
Nattr has developed an advice-based app where users can upload text messages they have received, and gain advice from other users on how to reply to them.
The company, founded by Melanie Mercier in 2014, allows users to anonymously upload conversations and receive crowdsourced text responses. Users can also (confidentially) send the text to friends via the app, who can respond without having to download Nattr.
In addition, the app has an army of qualified writers – such as famous comedians and actors – whom users can specifically select to respond to their text wittily, for a small fee.
HER
HER is women’s answer to Grindr: a social media app made for lesbians, by lesbians.
Founded in 2011 by tech entrepreneur Robyn Exton, who was frustrated with a market dominated by “dating sites initially created for gay men, and turned pink”, HER now boasts more than three million users in over 55 countries, and purports to be the largest community for lesbian, bisexual, and queer people worldwide.
HER isn’t limited to dating, either: much like Bumble, HER has features designed for making friends, finding out about local events, and keeping up-to-date with news relevant to the lesbian community.
