Herd: Non-Toxic Social Media
We are the first social app aimed to empower casual creation, limit comparison and protect its users wellbeing and data.
Project Description
Our Mission
All 10 major social media platforms created since 2003 have had male founders. Yet women are more active and engaged on social media than men, and more negatively impacted by the images they see online; 87% of women say they compare themselves to what they see on social media (in comparison to 66% of men) and almost 60% of women worldwide have been harassed on social media.
Herd is a social space focused on community over comparison aimed to restore authentic expression. In an ecosystem that deprioritizes user well-being, Herd is the greener pasture of social media; grown from honesty, empathy, respect, and discovery. We are taking a women-centric approach to design; by designing a better social media for the most vulnerable user, we are designing a better social media for all.
Product Overview
Our motto at Herd is “Protect the User,” and we bring this motto to life through every aspect of the app, brand, and business.
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Throwing out the social scale; no public likes or follower counts, no public facing profile pages, and no “influencers”.
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Setting boundaries; screen time limits that actually log you off, limited notifications and a strict no-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind.
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Protecting your data; there are no ads on Herd.
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Giving you control; through feed autonomy, users are able to adjust categories present on their feed at any time, eliminating mention of sensitive topics and allowing for a trigger free scrolling experience.
Our Team
Mady Dewey and Ali Howard, co-Founders, graduated from college together in 2018, but became best friends when they both moved to Seattle mid-2019 within 6 minutes of one another - talk about fate!
After an AirBnB break-in during their 2020 Galentine's Day Girls trip, Mady posted a video to TikTok recounting the events. Instead of being met with love and community in a time of distress, the video received immense hate, strangers saying it was "their fault", sending death threats and overwhelming their inbox.
Then, the pandemic hit a month later. Again, they turned to social media to be met with community and connection, yet as their screen time went up, they only felt more isolated. Once the pair began looking into research on social media's impact on mental health, they quickly found they weren't alone. Social media is, and has been ruining the mental health of teens and adults alike, yet nothing is changing.
Herd was born out hared frustration with comparison, addictive design, unrealistic beauty standards, influencer culture and toxicity online. Mady and Ali believe that technology can be used for good, and that Herd can redefine social media as a place that is actually good for us.
Traction
We began sharing our story, product, mission and vision on Tiktok, where our core demographic lives and have grown a community of 175,000, with 30,000 on our beta list. People are eager to move to the greener pasture, and we are eager to make it happen.
Why IFW?
Our team feels immense responsibility to create an inclusive and intentional product. We are seeking funding to live out this mission and hire another developer as we work to our beta launch in April.
Having your backing in this campaign means the world to us. We have faced many difficulties as women founders, but want nothing more than to keep on building. We greatly appreciate your support of Herd and help in redefining social media; not as a place of comparison, but a source of community.
Updates
The Campaign FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
I want to get in contact with you, how do I do that? Email us at [email protected]
Are only women allowed on Herd? While we are taking a women centric approach in the design of Herd, we recognize the need for a safe space online for all people. Therefore, all gender identities are welcome to join the Herd.
How will you make money? We plan to monetize through partnerships, in-app purchases and business/brand creator experiences.
Why the name? We have often flocked to sub-communities within current social media platforms (such as following positive influencers, joining female focused Facebook groups or participating in reddit threads).
Herds aim to protect its members from the outside world. Each member of the Herd is celebrated for their uniqueness and uplifted by the community within the Herd. As one Herd, we are moving to a greener social media pasture, where women (and allies) can join forces
There is power when we come together for a common good and there is strength when women's voices are finally heard.
Herd Logo Sticker!
We appreciate your support! For this donation, we will share our Tiktok marketing secrets and how we used the platform to grow a beta list from 0 to 30,000 in a month.
To thank you for this contribution, we will send you our metal water bottle with the saying "Remember to Log Out"
Rewards
Herd Logo Sticker!
We appreciate your support! For this donation, we will share our Tiktok marketing secrets and how we used the platform to grow a beta list from 0 to 30,000 in a month.
To thank you for this contribution, we will send you our metal water bottle with the saying "Remember to Log Out"