I’ve never been a fan of traditional social media. I don’t and have never had Instagram, Snapchat, or Tik Tok. I grew up in South Africa and saw real poverty on a daily basis and I’ve always felt ashamed that we as a society could be flaunting such opulence when so many people literally have nothing. I’m not saying that I don’t want people to have nice things, go on overseas holidays, or take pictures to capture those memories. I do want that for everyone. What I am saying is that I believe only showing this tailored version of yourself is a kind of pride and vanity that isolates us instead of bringing us closer together. About 8 months ago, I was getting dinner with some friends and one of them just had their Instagram account suspended for whatever reason. For the next hour she was utterly hung up trying to get her account back. It was if she’d just realised that her dog or cat had ran away. That’s how strong this bond was. And all this because we want to stay connected with friends? Or is that an illusion we keep telling ourselves, is connection really the same thing as understanding? So this desire of social media redesigned was something brewing in me for some time but this moment 8 months ago I could say was a real catalyst. Having a background in economics and with the help of my sister, an educational psychologist, I’ve tried to create an app that focuses on a new set of incentives grounded in authenticity and emotional security. On myRosetta you have real meaningful anonymous stories instead of likes and applauses. You have complete privacy instead of public follower counts. You have a platform optimised for quality instead of algorithms that optimise for engagement. It’s a breath of fresh air and here’s how it works: 1) Each week we reveal a question to you and give you room to reflect. Take your time, write down your story or experience in the form of a letter and seal it when it feels ready. Invite your closest friends to join your private community and read sealed letters anonymously. A kind of honesty that deepens friendships. 2) If you don’t feel like sharing your stories with anyone you can write for yourself in your private storybook. Create chapters, add photos, and build a personal record over time. Nothing here is shared. It belongs only to you. And it’s as simple as that. My goal is to build out a full suite of social media apps that follows these same principles of honesty, privacy, and true connection.

myRosetta

Anonymous letters. True connection.

Anonymous letters. True connection.