Two platforms that defined past eras return with renewed identities. Divine takes the baton from Vine with six-second looping videos, but promises a space without AI or engagement algorithms, prioritizing authenticity and creator ownership. Friendster, for its part, resurfaces with a radical proposal: no algorithms, no ads, and upon signing up, zero friends.
Connections without a screen: hardware as a social barrier 🔄
The new Friendster takes the concept of slow social to the extreme: to add someone, both users must physically meet and tap their iPhones. This action eliminates infinite scrolling and forces a real interaction before the digital one. Divine, in parallel, bets on a chronological feed without algorithmic curation, where content is measured not by engagement but by intention. Both seek to return control to the user, albeit at the cost of instant convenience.
Goodbye to scrolling, hello to accidental iPhone bumps 📱
The new Friendster promises that to have friends, you'll first have to bump phones as if they were sharpening stones. Forget stalking profiles from the couch: now social interaction requires putting on your shoes and going out to bump devices with strangers. Divine, meanwhile, offers you six seconds of authenticity without AI, just the time you need to remember that videos used to not try to sell you anything.