Sociable, a recently launched South African platform app, aims to take social media “back to basics”.
Speaking on an episode of TechCentral Show, which will be published in the coming days, Sociable founder and CEO Jason van Dyk said the app’s community focus is meant to serve as an antidote to larger social media platforms, which he feels have become depersonalised.
There is diminishing authenticity on social media thanks, in part, to the rise of AI bots, he said.
“At what point do we start looking at this and think, ‘Where is the utility?’ We spend hours online and we don’t even know if [we’re interacting] with people or things that people have made. You cannot ‘AI’ in-person interactions; there is nothing you can do to ever replace that,” said Van Dyk.
“What we are trying to do at Sociable is return the focus to what people really want from social media. We have spent so long building these tools to make our lives easier and save us time, but what are we doing with all this time we saved? How are we making it more meaningful for people?”
Launched in Cape Town last year – the city remains the company’s biggest market – one of Sociable’s aims is to combat the sense of disconnection that, ironically, can develop when using social media. Sociable users build and participate in communities based on mutual interest, with regular meetups serving as an important adjunct to their online engagement.
Meetups
According to Van Dyk, one of the most popular communities on the platform is Socially Gathering, run by Sarah Waller. Socially Gathering is a female-only community that provides a “safe space” for women to engage in activities, including dinner clubs, walking clubs and book clubs. Other prominent Sociable communities in Cape Town include running clubs, a beach clean-up group and a comedy club.
“We are trying to move from an attention economy to an intention economy. We want to bring people onto the platform who have the intention to do something by being active in their communities and giving back to people,” Van Dyk explained.
Read: The SA start-up using AI to read X-rays – and save lives
One of the major advantages that community apps have over large-scale social media platforms is that their niche, activity-based focus translates into interactions that, while fewer in number, represent more meaningful engagement from audiences, which then sustains their activity. Van Dyk said Sociable offers event management tools like ticketing that simplify the administration of events.
Safety is also a key focus. “Safety comes from realism – the fact that there is a face and a name behind every account using the platform. We also monitor events to ensure attendees are enjoying themselves. Hosts that are popular and trusted can also go through a verification process, which helps with building trust among members,” said Van Dyk.
Sociable users do not pay to access the platform or events that are free to attend. However, hosts whose events require an entry fee can set up payment facilities through the platform – or utilise other payment tools. Van Dyk said payment options for larger community groups that require advanced functionality from the platform are also available. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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