Showoff
The social media friends want
I worked as the Lead Product Designer for a startup social media app called Showoff. The idea behind the project is that users can share their live activities with their closest friends. Whether it's listening to music, upcoming flight, or a hike they recently went on, Showoff is the place to share it.
Client
Showoff
Deliberables
Logo & Branding UX Research User Interviews Application Design
Year
2025
Role
Lead Product Designer
Tools used
Figma Principle Maze Hotjar Slack Linear
Problem
Social media has become ever more time-consuming and performative, creating a gap between users and actual connections with their closest relationships. Our initial survey revealed that 86% of respondents feel that updating friends and relatives on social media is a time-consuming task that should be made easier somehow. This overwhelming response validates an important pain point: while people want to stay connected with their inner circle, the current social media solutions require too much time and mental energy for routine updates about daily activities.
Research objectives
This focus group research aims to understand User behavior patterns around sharing daily activities with close friends Time-saving preferences for social media interactions within intimate networks Privacy boundaries and comfort levels with automated activity detection Engagement expectations for a more streamlined, close-friend-focused platform Feature prioritization for an app that automates activity sharing while maintaining authenticity
Research Methodology
3 sessions, 6-8 participants each Focus groups provide the ideal research method for this concept because: Social dynamics matter: Since the app in its core functionality is about interactions within a friend group, focusing on natural group conversations reveals actual and realistic usage patterns Privacy concerns are complex: Group discussions help uncover various comfort levels when it comes to automated detection that individual interviews might miss Feature feedback is richer: Participants can build on each other's ideas, leading to fuller and more comprehensive feature insights Use case exploration: Real friend groups can walk through actual scenarios they'd encounter
Findings
Pain points we discovered: 92% of participants spend 15+ minutes daily updating friends across multiple platforms 78% feel overwhelmed by the need to create "picture-perfect" posts for broader audiences 89% want to share daily moments but feel they're "not interesting enough" for regular social media 71% forget to update friends about activities they meant to share Privacy & automation: 84% are comfortable with location-based activity detection for close friends only 67% want manual approval before any automated sharing 91% prefer context-aware sharing (e.g., "Daniel is at the gym" vs. just location) 76% want different privacy levels for different friend groups
Key quotes
"I want my best friends to know I'm hiking, but I don't want to post a whole Instagram story about it." - Sarah, 26 "Sometimes I just want to let my mom know I got to work safely without making it a big deal." - Marcus, 24 "I love seeing what my friends are up to in real-time, but I hate having to remember to post everything myself." - Emma, 22
Design process
Information architecture: Based on what we found out during the research stage, we structured the app around three main user needs: 1. Effortless Sharing Automatic detection of activities (with user control) Quick manual sharing options Context-aware suggestions 2. Close-Friend Privacy Invite-only friend circles Finer privacy controls No public discovery features 3. Authentic Connection Low-pressure sharing format Real-time activity feeds Minimal engagement mechanics (likes and comments are a feature, but there should be no pressure to using them)
