> From my experience, anytime you try to turn human interaction into a mass market app that can appeal to all users, it inevitably turns to shit over time as it keeps getting gamed by all parties involved till it implodes from the shittyness.
But what I described doesn't appeal to all users. It appeals to a subset of the exact same demographic using dating apps, it just also appeals to them beyond finding their first match.
You join the app and still have to find a match (or join with your partner; admittedly, a different demographic) to access any additional features. It's not some app you hop on to find a good grocery shop for Manuka honey or booking a flight.
If the matching aspect works fine, adding additional features shouldn't reduce use of or interest in the app, unless they're coupled with an annoying UX ("Hey, we took time to add this so you must use it").
It's not an "everything" app, it's about providing additional value to the existing audience that extends beyond just matches.
I don't think we can definitely say something like that does or doesn't work until we see enough of them crop up and fail. From what I have heard, niche dating apps (or "singles apps", more appropriately[1]) do okay in localized regions.
I would bet they probably would do okay on a larger scale, just that real life dating probably is a different game from city to city and so you can't just ship the exact same experience as you might for Vancouver to Springfield
But what I described doesn't appeal to all users. It appeals to a subset of the exact same demographic using dating apps, it just also appeals to them beyond finding their first match.
You join the app and still have to find a match (or join with your partner; admittedly, a different demographic) to access any additional features. It's not some app you hop on to find a good grocery shop for Manuka honey or booking a flight.
If the matching aspect works fine, adding additional features shouldn't reduce use of or interest in the app, unless they're coupled with an annoying UX ("Hey, we took time to add this so you must use it").
It's not an "everything" app, it's about providing additional value to the existing audience that extends beyond just matches.
I don't think we can definitely say something like that does or doesn't work until we see enough of them crop up and fail. From what I have heard, niche dating apps (or "singles apps", more appropriately[1]) do okay in localized regions.
I would bet they probably would do okay on a larger scale, just that real life dating probably is a different game from city to city and so you can't just ship the exact same experience as you might for Vancouver to Springfield
[1] https://dvt.name/2020/02/24/rfc-lets-disrupt-dating-apps/