June Waitlist Update

Happy summer and warm greetings from the entire Bright team. Now that we are approaching the midpoint of 2022, we wanted to take some time to share our thoughts with you about the app and the market more generally. It’s been an...interesting year in social media, and like everyone else, we’re parsing what it might mean going forward. One thing is certain: we’re as confident as ever that people are ready for something better online, and that they deserve it. We’re so glad that you’re part of the community that gets to participate in creating a better social network.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest topics in the space are the ongoing Musk-Twitter drama and the economy. They dominate the news cycles for much the same reason: uncertainty. Musk’s takeover bid reflects a general uncertainty about what the future of social networking will be, and whether one person should have disproportionate power over a network, be it Musk, Zuckerberg, or anyone else. Economic concerns, too, reflect our general inability to know what’s happening next -- there have been predictions of a serious crash for months, but it hasn’t materialised yet. The indeterminacy is a source of stress and anxiety for millions. In short, we’re all grappling with worry about what’s next.

In that context, it’s important to find pathways to “what’s next” that are better than “what’s now.” There’s only so much we can do about economic concerns, but an approach based in community and solidarity is always wise. As for social media, what comes next has to be a material change from where we are. Every day, the volume of data demonstrating the intentional addictiveness and harms of the major social networks grows, and with it, the urgent need to make a different option available.

It’s no surprise that we think Bright is that option. We believe that by creating a social space that operationalises our core values, we’ll build a social network that solves many of the problems of online toxicity. Specifically, we want to emphasise:

•  Transparency -- honesty and integrity about what we do, and why, so that our Members never need to wonder whether we say what we mean and do what we say.

•  Accountability -- holding Members, and ourselves, to a high (and clearly defined) standard, and ensuring that harmful and wrongful behaviour is handled definitively.

•  Choice -- remembering always that it is our Members who are the most important part of Bright, and so giving them the space and the trust to create their own connections without interference.

Ultimately, applying these three values to what we do ties into an overarching theme: reliability. In a time of great uncertainty, it’s critically important to create spaces where we know the rules, know the boundaries, and know that they’re meaningful. A game is only fun if everyone knows how to play, and social groups are only healthy when everyone has the chance to find a place in it. It’s no different online, and Bright is designed to give Members the certainty of a genuine community.

So as we move ahead through the next months and continue building the app, we want you to know that we share many of the same concerns you do, and we’re working hard to make Bright responsive to them. After all, Bright should develop and grow the same way that we do.

Thanks, as always, for helping us grow and for being a part of the earliest stages of our community. We couldn’t do it without you, and wouldn’t want to. We’ll keep you updated on our progress and, of course, we’ll continue to provide interesting content in our newsletter. Until our next update, we hope you’ll be well and thriving, and we can’t wait to see you on Bright!