Lyrrx

Write Less, Say More

Social media after the pandemic

Welcome to Lyrrx, the new messaging app in which users only post once-a-day, and accrue no followers.

I originally devised the idea for Lyrrx, (pronounced ‘Li-ricks’), in 2013, here in London, my home town. Like a lot of people, I had become disillusioned with social media. Despite its many benefits, I was troubled by the proliferation of abuse, the excessive amounts of time spent on various apps, the low quality of much of the messaging, the perpetual privacy and security breaches, and the obsession with collecting likes and followers. I questioned the usefulness of much of this activity. Quantity seemed to rule over quality.

I was disturbed by this “quantity” issue. Our civilisation is predicated upon excessive consumption and waste. Humans create 100 billion tonnes of “stuff” each and every year — of which less than ten per cent is recycled. We clear forests to produce more food, of which a third then goes to waste. We are sold cars and electrical devices with built-in obsolescence, so that we have to replace them, thereby creating even more excess and more waste. Just as these excesses are now damaging the Earth, social media’s excesses are simultaneously damaging the Earth’s people. The human body is linked to the Earth body. This is more than just a concept — ten of the eleven most common elements that exist within seawater make up more than 99.9 per cent of our atoms. We are connected to the Earth upon which we stand, (and indeed the cosmos), in more ways than we like to acknowledge.

As we move inexorably closer to environmental disaster through our addiction to excess, the principle of reductionism has become vital — it should perhaps be the biggest societal movement in our world today. Certainly, it is the concern of a growing number of citizens and activists globally. Lyrrx is part of this drive to consume less. It challenges our overuse of social media, and its negative consequences. When I was developing the idea, I asked myself — what would happen if there was an app that went in the opposite direction to all the others — one that was not about facilitating unlimited, addiction-inducing choice, but instead, one that actually cut it back, thereby encouraging us to focus? By restricting levels of engagement, Lyrrx challenges its users to think more about their communications, and thereby improve their quality and reach, for the benefit of all.

Our philosophy is simple — write less, say more.

Since social media was invented over 15 years ago, well over a billion people have tried it, and left disappointed, while the coronavirus lockdown caused millions more around the world to question and re-evaluate their relationships with the various platforms. In a world changed by Covid, and which continues to undergo radical change, could a proportion of these discontented users, plus some new and existing ones, be tempted by this new, post-pandemic social app? Now is the time to find out.

At first, I thought Lyrrx might be a little too offbeat to succeed. After all, social apps are predicated on excess, and users logging on to get attention and followers. Why would anyone want an app that didn’t allow them to do that? But the more I thought about it, the more I thought there was a big need for it. I am amazed for example, at how many people have lost their jobs, been abused, harassed, ‘cancelled’ or else had their lives ruined by ill-thought out messages they posted in haste on social media. Or those who have been convicted, or even jailed for defamatory statements. And the culprits are not all young and the reckless, as many people think. We have also seen politicians, philosophers and journalists amongst those who have spoken in error. In all such cases, one rash comment is all it took for their lives to be turned upside down. If they’d had an app that made them slow down and think before they acted, perhaps many of these ill-conceived posts could have been avoided. There’s a mantra here — by slowing things down, you see more.

In 2013 I was unable to raise the funds to realise my vision, and so the idea fell by the wayside. Disheartened, I filed it away on my computer and got on with my other writing work. Seven years passed — then the pandemic struck, and suddenly Lyrrx seemed more relevant than it did back in 2013, and so I decided to revive it. Lockdown taught many of us the value of slowing down, of pondering, of contemplation, and of thought before action. Armed with this new thinking, I revised my original design drawings, saved up some money and hired a team of developers, based in India, to build the Lyrrx prototype. Nine months later, and after overcoming many obstacles, it was ready.

By now there was a growing movement in tech towards consuming less, that coincided with my original concept. Smartphones now have built-in alerts that warn of excessive usage; gambling websites recommend that users take regular breaks, and there are a host of articles in the press about strung-out users doing “digital detoxes”. In the midst of the pandemic, British dating app, Thursday launched with a unique premise — it only operates once a week. Suddenly, Lyrrx’s reductionism didn’t feel so offbeat anymore — it felt exactly right for the times.

As well as encouraging us to engage less, another of Lyrrx’s major concerns is abuse. I am a black man who grew up in a household with six females, during which time I witnessed my mother being beaten by my father. I have also experienced racism and discrimination throughout much of my life. As a result, I am particularly sensitive to females and black people being abused online, and by the lack of protection there seems to be for them and other minorities. I see a lot of anger, sadness and disappointment amongst these people, who feel let down by the social media app bosses of Silicon Valley (who tend to be white and male). Social, rather than providing a safe haven for us to express ourselves, simply became another place for us to be brutalised.

My particular sensitivity to this issue means that there are certain features within the app that I have incorporated from start-up. For example, much of the abuse received by black footballers takes the form of racists sending players monkey emojis. Well, I have simply taken the monkey emoji out of Lyrrx’s design. It doesn’t solve the problem of racist abuse, but it is one more step that makes it harder for the perpetrators. A bigger feature within the app’s design is that all Lyrrx users, by default, have to opt-in to receive messages, which means that direct abuse aimed at you when you sign up, is zero. We have taken a number of other measures too, and we will continue to monitor our moves, and to innovate where possible.

But simply creating the Lyrrx platform was not sufficient on its own. Launching a new app upon the world was meaningless unless I had a clear vision of what its aims and values were. I needed to set out the guidelines that would encapsulate the culture of the company for all time. And so I drafted the Lyrrx manifesto — a “haiku” document consisting of four key principles, or “commandments”, that define us and govern what we do.

1 Do not hurt the user.

2 Inspire through creativity.

3 Embrace diversity and inclusion.

4 Balance money and morality.

Essentially therefore, Lyrrx is not just a social app — it is a way of living.

And so here we are. We have arrived, and we are excited to see what positive contribution we can make to the messaging landscape. I hope you like what I have created. The team will constantly be monitoring, revising and pondering how Lyrrx operates, and crucially, listening to your comments, in our quest to deliver you the most fulfilling, inspirational and safest experience we can. If you like what we’re doing, ask your friends to give it a try too. Maybe we can build a community.

Best wishes

Ben Arogundade

Creator and CEO, Lyrrx.