Based on this, Explore seems to have a hyper-optimized user acquisition flow, holding the user's hand along the way.

As usual with Nikita's apps, they are designed for virality and acquisition but still remains to be see whether there will be retention. In this case since it just extends iMessage, which already has the user retained and the entire social graph in there, it's different than a new app without muscle memory and cold start problem.

Nikita is a god at making viral iOS apps

His apps Tbh &amp; Gas have both made and been sold for millions of dollars

Acquired by Facebook &amp; Discord

Below are a list of hacks he uses in his new app Explode:

Thomas Schulz

Based on this, Explore seems to have a hyper-optimized user acquisition flow, holding the user's hand along the way.

As usual with Nikita's apps, they are designed for virality and acquisition but still remains to be see whether there will be retention. In this case since it just extends iMessage, which already has the user retained and the entire social graph in there, it's different than a new app without muscle memory and cold start problem.

https://x.com/thomasschulzz/status/1879240978244289000

The open web is dead, long live the open web. ⌐◨-◨

Building /warpcast and /farcaster

— gabrielayuso.com

Baking the app into iMessage also means apple could just launch this as a core feature of iMessage, right? I’m not convinced they’d ever do that but it’s the risk of building something so directly embedded into a platform you don’t control at all

Crypto, nouns, malleable software, interfaces, running. // working on @agora // https://0xmcg.com // /the-pond

Yeah that's the risk of building on top of a 3p platform (even OS) hence the term Sherlocked.

Although arguably this can also happen if a more dominant app copies your core feature successfully.

Instagram adoption Stories significantly impacted Snapchat.
Twitter adopting Spaces significantly impacted Clubhouse.