Your connections literally expire after 48 hours (yes, really) Zero followers, zero likes, zero feed to doomscroll The algorithm tries its HARDEST to match you with someone NOT from your country No ads. No data mining. No engagement metrics to optimize for.
The nuclear take that will get me roasted: Social media isn't broken because of the algorithm. It's broken because we've gamified human connection. Every platform is optimizing for addiction and engagement, calling it "connection." They've convinced us that 3,000 shallow relationships > 3 deep ones. Eintercon does the opposite. It's anti-growth, anti-retention, anti-engagement. You get matched with ONE person abroad, 48 hours, then they're gone. No building empires. No personal brands. Just... talking to another human. What I'm asking HN:
Am I insane for building an app that intentionally limits growth? Is there even a business model for "authentic connection" when surveillance capitalism pays 100x more? Has anyone else felt completely alienated by having "thousands of connections"?
I know this will get comments saying "this already exists" (it doesn't, not like this) or "no business model = dead" (probably true). But I'm curious if anyone else feels like social media made us less social, not more. Try it: eintercon.com Roast me. Or tell me I'm onto something. Either way, I need to know if this resonates or if I've completely lost the plot.
al_borland•2mo ago
It seems that the connection should persist as long as the conversation is alive. Start chatting and keep all active conversations with some kind of 2 way back and forth within the last week. If the conversation dies out, then let the connection expire.
abilafredkb•2mo ago
It creates urgency to actually engage (no "I'll reply later" that becomes never) It's long enough for meaningful exchange across time zones It filters out low-effort connections before they clutter your inbox
The alternative would be what you described—keeping conversations alive as long as there's activity. But in practice, we found people don't want 47 half-dead conversations lingering. The explicit "extend or end" decision forces both people to actively choose whether this connection matters. Sharing external contact info? Some users do exchange WhatsApp/Instagram if they really click, but that's not the goal. The goal is to keep quality high by requiring mutual intent to continue. Does that make more sense? Happy to clarify further!
al_borland•2mo ago