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Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

theguardian.com

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Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#51
post #5

I do use Strava a lot to record my rides and stuff, and even more since I could afford a Wahoo - but I really hate the 'social' side of Strava. It tries to make you 'competitive' so hard. Granted, as a professional loser I'd like to find someone that likes cycling too, though cycling alone is great too - still, I'd rather find that person in one of those rides than in some weird thing like Strava fly-by's or somethin…

Yeah, I used to use Strava to track rides when I was cycling a lot and at some point realised it just made feel bad about my own performance. I run a lot more than I ride now and only take my keys with me. I check the time before I leave and know roughly how far and log it in my calendar. Running without any tech or music/podcasts/audiobooks has also helped me focus on technique and breathing and gives me a proper br…

Garmin Connect is actually fairly decent. Tracks activities (also sleep, which I find pretty useful), fairly detailed stats, little to none social features and a little gamification with challenges and achievements.

Also the watch reminds you to move from time to time.

Komoot is great for planning of "trips" and "stealing" other people's routes. I've done couple of them and you kind of never know what you're gonna see there (hopefully not agressive dogs), all of them were pretty enjoyable. It has a bit of a social aspect, but barely anyone uses it where I live, so IDK how it is.

One thing I miss from Strava are segments (or whatever they're called) - short parts of your route with it's own leader-board. Has "speedrun, but IRL" vibes, which is pretty cool IMO.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#52

Sharing a common interest is the best way to meet lots of new people. It creates low stakes interaction opportunities and removes the creep factor (if you are at a meetup for fans of model trains along with like a dozen other people, it’s not weird that you are talking to some of them). Better than any app, go get a hobby in person and get out there to meet people who are into it. Chances are you present yourself way…

This is the common advice, but it's also resulted in many of these hobby based events being overrun by people who are primarily there looking to find a date. It can be a weird dynamic. My suggestion is get a hobby that you explicitly are interested in, but don't go in with an expectation that you'll find someone, or make that your primary goal. > Chances are you present yourself way better in the real world vs online…

> For many of us I don't think this is true

Probably depends on the details of the online communication.

A video call, a synchronous one on one text chat, an asynchronous one on one text chat, and a public broadcast like HN or Twitter all create very different experiences.

HN’s format makes it easy to show aloof, professional detachment and conceals my age and looks. For dating, though? That ain’t an advantage.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the common advice, but it's also resulted in many of these hobby based events being overrun by people who are primarily there looking to find a date. It can be a weird dynamic. My suggestion is get a hobby that you explicitly are interested in, but don't go in with an expectation that you'll find someone, or make that your primary goal. > Chances are you present yourself way better in the real world vs online…

> For many of us I don't think this is true Probably depends on the details of the online communication. A video call, a synchronous one on one text chat, an asynchronous one on one text chat, and a public broadcast like HN or Twitter all create very different experiences. HN’s format makes it easy to show aloof, professional detachment and conceals my age and looks. For dating, though? That ain’t an advantage.

All very different experiences, and the quality of the communication depend on the people in question.

Some people are great communicators over text but really struggle with in person communication. And vice versa.

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#54
post #33

> “The thing about Letterboxd is there isn’t a ‘central town square’ like there is on X; it’s a very single-channel conversation,” says Gracewood. Comments happen in-line – similar to those on the Guardian and Observer websites – meaning that it’s less possible to performatively repost content into a main feed in order to encourage a pile-on. Similar situations exist on platforms such as Goodreads and Strava, where i…

Or maybe there’s a “Who Is Looking for Love?” coming up on Ask HN, much like the job threads :)

If you think dating apps skew male…

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#56
Sparknotes spawned a quiz site, TheSpark, that eventually morphed into OKCupid... that started out being successful because it gamified making quizzes for people, and then stumbled on the miracle of asymmetrical matching. Ie. matching people not based on common interests per se, but on curiosity... or "satisfying" their curiosity. Turned out to be a great way to get to know yourself, and what you are really looking for... I'm sure a lot of people figured out what to look for in their true ideal partners, and some even managed to meet them on the site... Match.com takeover obviously completely ruined everything... rooting for more copies, hell, even a decentralized protocol, that can bring back notjust the romantic, but also the platonic- and self-insight-giving parts of TheSpark...

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#58

Can't be overstated how good having a setting centered on some common activity with low stakes social interaction is for building relationships, romantic as well as platonic. Hookup culture just isn't for everyone, and the notion that it is has been the cause of a lot of grief and agony.

Umm.. yes it can. Common interests are WAAAY overrated. It's barely even a starting point... asymmetry is there it's at, why "partner" with yourself, when you can partner with your literal compliment, someone who has what you lack.... to make not just a bigger half, but an actual whole?!

Re: Have ‘hobby’ apps become the new social networks?

#60
I wish there were more offerings for socialising around hobbies.

Strava looks great for some sport activities, but I’d like to meet other nerds into 80s computing, hobby electronics, comics, sci-fi, home automation, kayaking, city exploration, etc

You invariably end up with lical Facebook groups, which are just a flow of posts, and require a FB account, or some non local reddit group, or small scale website you have no idea exists.

Something is missing. It sure would require mass appeal to be useful, but a ‘Tinder for your hobbies’ might be nice. Get matches from people near you who enjoy a cross-section of the same stuff.

Add some social aspects for those who like to show off or share (don’t force it though), make discovery easy, let people organise events…

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