Moderator: Kara Swisher, Co-executive Editor, Re/code
Chrys Bader, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Secret
David Byttow, Co-founder and CEO, Secret
[started notes late]
David: Anonymity is important. We took a stance against names. Complicated system on backend, things that go to moderation team. Key is to distill, help illustrate what is bullying, constructive vs destructive.
Chris: We rely on the community to help identify areas of concern or identity. Hard to differentiate. Social networks all deal with this stuff. YouTube moderators too, positive uses stay on as a group. Improve the value to society, expression without fears associated with Facebook, etc.
David: Google Plus’ approach is about audience control, circles and buckets. People just want to share what’s important to them. We reversed that with anonymity. We’re different than Whisper, goals and intentions. Brings people closer together, start with those who are already close to you. Personal uses, topics that are hard to discuss.
Chris: Anonymity, most important thing is context. Secret Dens was pilot project, now in use by internal teams at big companies. It’s a closed space, private. Next step is open secret to see what’s going on around me. You don’t need identity for that.
Kara: you said you’re not a media company, I use it for entertainment. It’s a content company.
David: we delete that content, it’s engaging but happens in the moment. Content is about the conversation, ephemeral.
Kara: talk about privacy elements of people saying things then those comments stick to them.
Chris: from day one, if our data were compromised it’s a problem. People trust us based on ability to delete a post. Why keep something that gets no attention in 24 hours? Having fleeting conversations and learning from that.
Kara: disappointments and surprises?
Chris: amount of stuff that people write because they’re passionate, no social capital for posting. People write mini-books with long conversations. Not tying to anyone’s names.
David: amount of dates that my friends have gotten, that it facilitates human connection based on what they’re saying. We look at people and attach a prejudice. On secret, everyone has an equal voice–it humanizes them. Human behavior can be disappointing.
Chris: be prepared. We grew really fast, globally. We have to take it slow. Recently hired two Facebook alumni, including one policy guy, also global moderation.
Kara: we wrote on a secret dinner party, interesting because people didn’t know each other. Do you look at yourself as an anonymous Tinder?
David: Tinder is a bit shallow, not the best match. We put people together. Love and connection is fundamental human needs.
Chris: a reason why we stay away from private messaging, to prevent people from feeling overwhelmed and scared.
Kara: when you’re thinking about, like early days of chat rooms at AOL, it’s not much different than that. Where does your business go? Business model?
Chris: it’s really important to allow people to connect: Socially, deeper to find out who said that. Physically: what’s in my surroundings? Emotionally: topics, context.
David: bringing you in touch with your greater community. What’s actually going on, what are people really thinking, not what’s watered down online. Really important for society.
Kara: how are you going to make money:
Chris: we’re still early in evolving the platform. Model will emerge. We don’t know yet.
David: first build credibility in users.
Kara: where is “anonymous” going? Need for privacy while sharing?
Chris: content and context. It’s the combination.
David: Facebook has made concerted effort to focus on identity. We’re focusing on content.
Kara: could you imagine being sold to one of the Twitters of the world?
Chris: they’ve tried. We’ve uncovered an opportunity to give back to the people. As long as we can operate under that vision…