Fed up with doomscrolling and performative content, a new generation of founders is building intimate, interest-first platforms that prioritize depth, creativity, and community.
A New Kind of Social Internet Is Emerging
Zehra Naqvi still remembers the early internet — fan pages, filtered lattes, and Twitter before it became a political warzone. For her, the online world was once filled with connection and wonder. But today’s platforms? They feel fractured, performative, and exhausting.
“Now there is an abundance of content but a scarcity of joy,” Naqvi told TechCrunch.
She’s not alone. A wave of founders and users are rejecting the infinite scroll model — driven by algorithms and ad dollars — and instead building niche, participatory social networks centered on shared passions.
Lore and the Return to Fandom Roots
Naqvi’s new venture, Lore, helps fans dive deeper into their interests — whether it’s Marvel fan theories or obscure K-pop lore.
- Lore is like Wikipedia meets a personalized obsession dashboard.
- Users can explore content trees, get monthly fandom reports, and link cultural context to the rabbit holes they care about.
- It’s powered by AI, but focused on community, not content churn.
Early users say it feels like the internet used to — rich with discovery and personality.
Community Is Now the Product
For investors like Natalie Dillon at Maveron, this shift is unmistakable.
“Community isn’t a feature layered on top of a product. It is the product.”
Examples of this new wave include:
- Fizz: connecting college students on campus
- Beli: sharing restaurant recommendations with friends
- Co-Star: bonding over astrology
- Partiful: reimagining party invites as social events
These platforms prioritize participation over performance, and utility over virality.
Beyond the Algorithm: Depth Over Reach
Naqvi and others believe the era of “more” — more followers, more engagement, more noise — is giving way to depth.
“Niche spaces give people permission to be specific and show up as their whole selves,” she said.
That sentiment is reshaping how we think about scale. It’s not about building the next Facebook or TikTok. It’s about building a hundred smaller communities where people can truly belong.
Spill, Blacksky, and the Power of Cultural Context
Platforms like Spill and Blacksky are leaning into cultural specificity and safety.
- Spill, led by Alphonzo Terrell, became a haven for Black users fleeing the chaos of X.
- Features include Spades, fandom-focused rooms, and “Tea Parties” co-hosted with Netflix and Amazon.
- Blacksky, by Rudy Fraser, uses the Bluesky protocol but gives marginalized users real control.
- It includes harassment filtering, user-owned data, and even community voting on moderation policies.
These tools provide a more customized, respectful digital experience — a far cry from the generic, algorithm-driven feed.
AI Is Quietly Powering the New Wave
According to Austin Clements of Slauson & Co., many of these niche networks are AI-native from day one.
- AI is used not to maximize attention but to create personalized, relevant experiences.
- In Lore’s case, it helps link content to context — showing users exactly what they want to know before they ask.
“It’s like Wikipedia — but if Wikipedia knew exactly what I was thinking,” one tester said.
The Future: Multiplayer Social Platforms
Rather than chasing the old model of mass social reach, the next big thing may be lots of small things.
“The winners will combine intimacy, utility, and creativity in one ecosystem,” said Dillon.
“They’ll feel like multiplayer environments where people can build, buy, and belong all at once.”
This aligns with a broader creator trend noted by Emily Herrera of Slow Ventures — creators are becoming owners, not just content contributors. They’re building micro-worlds, not chasing virality.
And for many users? That’s more than enough.
“People want tools that help them remember why being online was fun in the first place,” Naqvi said.
