Wander

@aldainreid I agree that messaging can always be improved! We are very new and I think involving our users in building this together is a good way to start too.

@AnujAdhiya Just looked at Wandermates - It looks poorly designed from the outside, I didn't even bother looking inside. Downloaded Backpackr, will take a look at that.

@AnujAdhiya Wander is hyper-focused on singles who travel. The other apps have different targets. I also believe we have a different design and UX philosophy.

@metakrystal Thanks. If I could ask a couple of follow up questions: Could you elaborate more on your hyper-focus on singles who travel? How do you see your approach ultimately leading to a better travel experience for singles than potential alternatives?

@AnujAdhiya Thanks for giving me the chance to address this. Most singles leave more of an open-end; "let's see what happens!" as opposed to "I want to do exactly this". There is a stronger focus on creating new friendships, which could blossom into something more (not necessarily during the trip), and pulling out a great story from a never-before experience. Our team asks what travelling singles want to see and do that fits this YOLO attitude. We keep this in the front of our mind when crafting the UX. That being said, V1 is not our end game. We are already taking in great feedback and building V2, which gives travelling singles more of what they want - chance, opportunity, and a damn good experience somewhere new with someone (or more) new. This means that with Wander, single travellers meet more singles, more easily, and have a more comfortable, low-pressure relationship with those they choose to travel with or meet. When travelling single, that's what I would want. We think others feel the same. No alternative provides that right now.

@metakrystal Thanks for taking the time to respond - appreciate it. You're clearly on to something here. Best wishes for v2 and beyond :)

@kishan_guptas Thank you, Kishan! Your support is appreciated greatly.

@nzieber Thanks, Nick!

@aldainreid Do you think something like "solo travelers" would be better?

@aldainreid Thank you! I think that anywhere singles are concerned, there would be an element of dating. However, framing it with travellers, or film enthusiasts, or any other interest makes it less about the hooking up and more about the shared experience, which to me is key to forming deeper and more meaningful relationships, whether that would be friendship or more. Although you make a valid point, I wouldn't change the objective of Wander to dismiss potential detractors. I believe that with any social app, detractors will always make themselves present. We aren't an app for just for backpackers (backpackr) or people just looking to hook up (tinder). With the right community-building efforts, those looking for something else would fall off the app anyway (as it doesn't cater to their need). Also, I would not mind having those difficult conversations, to be honest. Having those conversations out in the open are helpful in order to align our brand's message with would-be users, and would help us understand what they are looking for more clearly too.

@AnujAdhiya We aren't targeting solo travellers. They have a need and like to meet new people, but we would love to build a trusted community of singles. Those experiences would be quite different, I imagine. :)

@aldainreid @metakrystal Both of you guys make really valid points. Anytime you have an app where there is the potential users can "meet", even if it is not necessarily a dating app, you will need to answer questions about it being a dating app. That's why I believe it is best to be upfront about your brand and your app's purpose from day 1. If its a dating app, say its a dating app. If people use your app expecting to find dates, but others on it don't believe it is a dating app, then both will be disappointed with the interaction. But then, as soon as you call it a "dating app" then people say "well its just another dating app...". We built HeyLets as a place where users can share and discover experiences. Some people believed when we launched that it was about meeting people to go on dates with. Those people though typically didn't get the response they were looking for from other users, and either left the app or used it in the way it was meant to be used. In the end, as you mentioned, it is about managing your community, listening to them, and striking the balance between coaching your community and letting them use the app however they want to... (which is a daily conversation we have at HeyLets)