The problem
Apps for making lists and rating the items you put on them are only rising in popularity, with Goodreads, Letterboxd, and Beli being just a few that I see flooding the modern social scene.
These apps all provide avenues for fostering core-values like self-expression, memory-keeping, community conversation, and recommendation culture. But research indicates that these apps suffer significant retention and engagement challenges, with many users citing dissatisfaction with user experience. So what are they missing?
My first summer living in NYC I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things to explore and discuss. After my boyfriend and I read, watched, heard, ate, or visited anything, we started asking each other “So what do you give it out of ten?” in an effort to organize our thoughts.
Hence one of the greatest qualms with rating apps: they’re not on the same scale. Five stars on Goodreads is a favorite book of all time while a five on IMDb is a movie considered "fine" at best.
Secondly, these apps all serve the same essential function, yet all require the use of a different platform, with those gravitating towards a particular form of media lessening their use of another.
I hope to foster retention and engagement by creating a singular platform with a universal rating system that encourages users to rate, save, share, and discover what to read, watch, hear, and visit: all on the same scale, all in the same place - so we can all be on the same page.
Make to-do and have-done lists of your favorite past-times and media forms, get personalized recommendations and share yours with others, and organize books, shows, movies, music, podcasts, restaurants, stores, and sites side by side, so you can prioritize what you want to focus on right now and up next.