Banter Debuts An Anonymous Social Network On Mobile That Focuses On Interests, Not Confessions
TechCrunch › Sarah Perez
A new mobile app called Banter wants to build an anonymous social network on mobile by carving out a niche for itself that falls somewhere in between mobile messaging apps, like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and the more “confessional” apps like Secret and Whisper.
Instead, chats in Banter are designed to flow like real-world conversations do, without the fear that everything discussed will be permanently etched in stone, or associated with a user’s public identity. The public chats only remain live for 24 hours, says the company, then they disappear. And you can participate using just a pseudonym.
The service also has some elements that make it feel like old-school message boards, as chats take place in “rooms” which can be event-focused (e.g. a sports event you’re watching, the Oscars, etc.) location-focused (Austin – for SXSW attendees, a local bar, e.g.), topic-focused (a health issue, support groups, gaming, etc.), or any combination of these. In the rooms, users can share text, photos, URLs, videos, GIF’s emoji’s and more, to discuss the topic in real-time.
The company was founded by long-time serial entrepreneur, Andrew Busey, currently a Partner at Chaotic Moon, a mobile strategy and development firm for consumer brands, that’s worked with companies like Disney, Pizza Hut, Pinkberry, Marvel, Xbox, National Geographic, Taco Bell, Starbucks, Samsung, and many, many more.