Pop app
If you spend time on the internet, you'll know it’s rare to go more than a few months without hearing about a new social media app, each with a fresh angle that promises to break the cycle of mindless scrolling.
This week, it was the turn of Lapse — which, counterintuitively, uses the astonishingly impressive iPhone lens to mimic a disposable camera — ranking 3rd on the App Store chart for free apps.
But, if creating a breakout hit is hard, maintaining that momentum is much, much harder. Analysis of the relative Google search volume for the internet’s most recognizable platforms shows that, bar a few familiar exceptions, whatever interest initially goes up, comes down hard when apps fall out of favor (see: Bebo, Vine, Friendster, MySpace, Clubhouse, BeReal, and many, many more).
Even having one of the most famous people on the planet as your talisman can’t guarantee success. This week, former President Trump’s platform Truth Social reported operating losses of ~$35 million since its inception, as the social network remains in legal and regulatory limbo.
Unsocial media
Platforms like Lapse and BeReal are sometimes billed as being anti-Instagram by attempting to reconnect people with their friends and family in an unfiltered way — filling a gap for social media that’s actually social, rather than focused on news or entertainment.
But, while the mega apps are old and ugly enough to act as lightning rods for regular criticism (Facebook will turn 20 in March), people can’t seem to stop using them. Indeed, just this week, Apptopia data revealed that Meta’s biggest apps saw modest increases in daily users, beating out Gen-Z mainstay TikTok.
