Users run away when asked to type too much. Pivot Echo into a 1-sentence anonymous co-writing game? Need advice.
Hey IH,
I’m currently building Echo (followecho.com), a text-based social app on React Native.
The core problem I'm trying to solve is simple: Traditional apps don't really read what you actually like or dislike—they just let people swipe based on photos. Echo uses backend AI to analyze your actual user intent and match minds under total anonymity.
Here is the real mess I am dealing with right now:
Initially, the app was extremely simple: you write private journals for the AI to read, and it matches you with others. But when I tested it with my friends, most of them were immediately scared away because it required too much reading and typing.
I panicked about user retention and started throwing casual features at it to fix the "typing laziness" problem:
I added voice input and anonymous text probing.
I introduced Pexels images, asking users to react to pictures so the AI could learn about them without making them type long texts.
But looking at it myself, I realized I wouldn't get addicted to reacting to random images either. It feels disconnected from the core text sandbox experience.
The New Idea I want to double-down on:
I came up with a fully anonymous, 2-user co-writing simulation game. Two users co-create a story scene together. They define characters' actions and dialogues—but clamped to just 1 sentence per turn by the AI so they don't get tired of typing.
The gamification comes from random system-generated rewards/penalties, and they can choose to leave early or continue based on whether they vibe with the other mind.
My core questions for fellow builders:
Should I ruthlessly strip out the casual features (images/anonymous questions) and focus 100% on making this 1-sentence co-writing game work?
How would you design a cold, numerical reward loop for a 1-sentence anonymous game like this without making it feel gimmicky?
I recently redesigned the landing page into a very minimal, text-heavy font strategy just to anchor the vibe and see who bites. You can check out the current waitlist flow at followecho.com.
I haven't been able to find new users to test this co-writing game yet and I'm honestly feeling very anxious about it. Tear this direction apart!
The part I'd be most nervous about isn't the reward system.
It's that you're currently treating several very different questions as if they're one product decision.
Feature selection, engagement, matching quality, and user understanding can all point in different directions while still producing feedback that sounds positive.
That's why I'd be hesitant to answer "keep it or cut it" directly from the thread alone.
To be completely honest, you just pointed out my exact anxiety. Here is the real story behind this mess:
Initially, the app was extremely simple: you write private journals for the AI to read, and the AI matches you with someone based on your hidden likes/dislikes. But when I tested it with my friends, most of them were immediately scared away because it required too much reading and typing.
Then people told me user retention is everything, so I panicked and started throwing features at it to fix the "typing laziness" problem:
I added voice input and anonymous texting/testing features.
I introduced Pexels images, asking users to react to pictures so the AI could learn about them without making them type long texts.
But looking at it myself, I realized I wouldn't get addicted to reacting to random images either.
So I came up with a new core feature: A fully anonymous, 2-user co-writing simulation game. Two users co-create a story scene together. They only define characters' actions and dialogues (clamped to just 1 sentence per turn by the AI so they don't get tired of typing). The gamification comes from random system-generated rewards/penalties, and they can choose to vote-kick or leave early if they don't vibe with the other mind.
I haven't been able to find new users to test this co-writing game yet because I've been stuck in my own head with all these accumulated features, and I'm honestly feeling very anxious about it. But personally, I think this anonymous simulation game is the only feature that has a real shot at bringing retention.
Since you unbundled my problem, my gut feeling tells me I should probably kill the image-reaction stuff entirely and just focus on making this 1-sentence co-writing game work. What do you think about this specific pivot based on the user behavior I saw?
Possibly, but that's exactly why I'd be careful.
I don't think the interesting question is whether the co-writing game stays or the image reactions go.
I think there's a more important decision sitting underneath that entire story.
That's the part I'd be hesitant to answer casually because getting it wrong can make several very different directions feel validated at the same time.
If you'd like the tighter version, drop your email and I'll put it together properly.
This comment was deleted 3 days ago.
Sent you a note by email — think it captures the decision more clearly.