Social media was meant to be a facilitator of human connection and communication. However, these platforms have left people feeling isolated and lonely. While millions still enjoy the modern iterations of social media apps, many are looking for different experiences. Some want an online community without harmful social currency like likes and followers, while others just want to find a group of like-minded people on a relatively minimalistic interface.
As AI, deep fakes, and other misinformation become easily produced, social media has a greater purpose than cultivating connections. Due to polarization and convenience, social media has become the go-to place for news and opinion-related content. However, it can be challenging to find credible users who share valid opinions. Many people frequent online forums to find these answers that a blog or survey won't provide. However, they have to consider the validity of every response as they don't know the experience and intent of a user. Having a trusted platform to visit for valid, reliable opinions can be extremely valuable or entertaining depending on your question.
Collaborative decision-making can provide an online user with a diversified understanding of a topic. When multiple users provide their perspectives, bias decreases and a person asking a question in a social decision environment will find it easier to conclude. Without the correct guardrails, collaborative decision-making can cause negative occurrences like social pressure, 'groupthink', and more.
Cem Yilmaz and Sezer Ulutas, two highly experienced engineers, decided to create a social media platform that enables social decision-making with multiple participants. The pair met as coworkers and quickly bonded over mutual interests and a shared Turkish heritage.
One day, Sezer and Cem realized that the social media landscape was lacking an opinion-based platform that provided real-time insights into a demographic's feelings on a topic. Loop was created to resolve this issue and ensure that popularity wouldn't fuel misinformation.
Cem explains what problems may evolve when online audiences want opinions on a topic. "When I'm looking to make a decision or I simply want some feedback on multiple options I'm looking into, I often want opinions from average people, not from a blog or an outdated survey. So, I go to social media. However, sometimes people with more followers and likes can dominate the conversation about a topic even if their opinion isn't fully informed. I wanted to make the Loop platform to fix this issue because we need a better online system for accessing credible opinions in an unlimited time frame."
By providing credible opinions, Loop users receive points that strengthen their voting power in polls. As they accumulate more points, users will be awarded badges that are displayed on their profile. Loop also incentivizes users to report users attempting to harass or spam others, giving the app a strong culture of honesty and integrity.
Loop's co-founders said that the journey to launching the app wasn't easy, but they're deeply passionate about filling gaps in the social media market. Loop's mission is to become the leading platform for trusted opinions. Cem feels it will become popular for providing a long-term view that surveys can't. Additionally, Loop will offer an interactive community that other social media apps lack.
The app is currently available on the Android app store and will soon be added to iOS. This first release will offer the Loop point and voting system and future developments may involve AI moderation, a business subscription model, and more.
As Loop becomes more popular among youth and intellectually focused circles, the team is excited to boost functionality. For quite a long time, the Loop team only consisted of Cem and Sezer, but now they have 15 employees.
Loop has attracted several investors with its innovative ideas. The team completed a $300,000 seed funding round recently and plans to raise more funding for future goals.
The creation of a collaborative decision-making platform will make social media a positive, inclusive place. Users will benefit from increased social interaction and a less polarized feed, which can foster conversations between divided groups and provide insight into our society's stances on a variety of issues.
