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Show HN: A photo sharing app that isn't trying to be a TikTok clone
We launched Pidgeon a few weeks ago, and since then we've had a chance to fix a lot of bugs and upgrade the usability a significant amount.
The app is made just for photo sharing. No videos, no NFTs, just pictures, comments, and chats. Each post is ranked like on reddit - a combination of the user upvote/downvotes and the amount of time passed since the post's creation.
We're also trying to stay away from ads, and instead adopt a freemium model. The main reason for this is because people are a lot more concerned with privacy these days, and if we aren't serving ads, then the user knows that we don't have an incentive to steal their data.
There's already a small community of about 1500 on the app, with a lot of them being professional photographers. So the photos going up look really nice (at least in my opinion). But we don't just want to be a community of people who consider themselves photographers - that's a mistake that other platforms like Flickr and VSCO make. To become widespread, you need to make your platform simple to use for the casual person; only catering to professionals will necessarily keep your community smaller than it otherwise would be.
Users have been asking for a desktop client, and while we don't have one yet, we do plan to add it - and it won't take us as long as IG to do it, and neither will it be an afterthought where the UX is intentionally made poor so that you're pushed to use the app instead. But we want to polish the mobile app first before we get there, and there's still a lot of work to do since it's super early days.
If you want to try it out, here's the link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.pidgeon.pidgeon
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pidgeon-simple-photo-sharing/id1605784768
And please do provide any feedback you have on the app! It really does help us make it better.
- Fnalsk 4y agoAnd because this community in particular is probably interested in this, the app is made with Flutter. Highly recommend for anyone that hasn't yet tried it.
- itake 4y agohn community is dead on weekends. I'd repost during the week.
- itake 4y ago> The content you see is determined by people, not a magic algorithm. Isn't IG's algorithm "determined by the people"? The more engagement (views/likes/comments, etc.) the more the content is shown to other users. Plus its even smarter by customizing the recommendations to your personal preferences (e.g. if you heart a fitness pic, the algorithm will recommend more fitness pics). Its frustrating to me seeing people being angry at {social media}'s content recommendation engine. The reason why all these companies have this algorithms is cuz they work... At worst, you're re-inventing a less efficient wheel and at best, you do what Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Youtube, etc. all realized is a better user experience (the one you're trying to replace).
- Fnalsk 4y agoThe point is that they work...for the company. In most of these cases the business model of the company is ads, which means they want to get as much time on the app as possible, regardless of what that means for the user's mental health or their overall enjoyment. This isn't necessarily what's best for the user.
- itake 4y ago> regardless of what that means for the user's mental health or their overall enjoyment So they built an app that people want to use? Diving down mental health rabbit hole, what is bad for your mental health? Seeing people that are prettier or more successful than you? If so, how does this app discourage recommending content of pretty/successful people? Would you want an app that only has ugly people?
- acid303 4y agoI find taking a break from consuming personalized content refreshing. It sometimes feels like I'm missing out on a lot of good stuff simply because the algorithm tries to show me what it thinks I'll like.
- stevesearer 4y agoI enjoy architecture and interior design photos on IG. In the future I imagine that computer generated renderings will be impossible to distinguish from photographs. Sometimes I wonder if next generation algorithms will not only show you what it thinks you like but also create the visual content it thinks you like as well.
- acid303 4y agoSounds cool! I've decided to try it, is there a way to share to Pidgeon from the Photos app on iOS?
- Fnalsk 4y agonot yet, that's something we'll need to add
- masterchief1s1k 4y agoInstantly downloaded after I see that you have an iPad version unlike IG. Really appreciate it, since I do most of my photo editing on the go with my iPad. Also gotta say I love the simple and straightforward UI, the dice-rolling thing add a unique touch too. However, I can see that the app still need a lot of performance tweak, the UX for exiting out of a horizontal image scroll is weird as well, I would prefer to be able to swipe up to exit the view here. Otherwise, cool app thus far!
- lienhoangduy 4y agoActually, your app is more looked like IG than TikTok. Do you have any features or USP that IG's users should switch to yours?
- Fnalsk 4y agoFirst, we plan to monetize on a freemium model. This means we don't have an incentive to sell your data to advertisers. Second, we don't plan to add video. This is a platform just for photos, and for someone who wants something like that it's a good thing. We also run on iPad, and when we get desktop going it won't be an intentionally broken experience to force you to use the app. And we actually listen to our users. There's a chat room on the app "Pidgeon Nest" where people have asked for certain features and we've gone and added them. We've also done the same when users have reached out over email.
- lienhoangduy 4y agoOh, I think IG used to be for image only but time by time, it has to develop to video and the trend is short video (Tik Tok - Facebook also create short video and push it to the feed).
- wingerlang 4y ago> A photo sharing app that isn't trying to be a TikTok clone Why would it be, TikTok isn't for photo sharing.. Looks exactly like IG though.
- cupofpython 4y agoi believe youve answered your own question. IG has formally moved away from pictures in favor of Reels. This headline might be a direct reference to that
- londgine 4y agoIs there desktop support? apps have their place, but they are almost always better with desktop support (even Whatsapp added that)
- Fnalsk 4y agoWorking on it!
- tompagenet2 4y agoSome hopefully useful thoughts. Well done for launching. * users of photo sites are justifiably worried about how this business is sustainable (or will everything just get deleted). What's your plan? * Add Creative Commons licenses * how do I edit or add a title to a picture after uploading? * Is there a web version? This is a big deal if not.
- Fnalsk 4y agoFreemium, with non-targetted ads (only if we have to). Tap on the image within the comments view, and use the three dots icon to the lower right of the overlay that appears. Web version is coming. So many people have requested this - we're definitely aware that it's a big deal.
- zeruch 4y agoWhat if you are less a photographer and more an artist/illustrator?
- Fnalsk 4y agoThat's also very welcome, it's more or less a platform for any sort of imagery
- zeruch 4y agoIt's good to be explicit about what content you are seeking, as historically spots like 500px were very photo-centric, and other places were a catch-all for anything and how sites gain an identity/curate/attract users can be strongly affected by those early choices (disclosure: I've used dozens of these kinds of services over the years, and even worked at one -DeviantArt- at one point, so my view is only partly anecdotal :)