Vision

Pioneering Meaningful Human Connection in a Digital World

FWD represents a paradigm shift in our existing social technology—a platform that allows people to collaborate on building human relationships through trusted individuals, not illusory digital connections through an algorithm.

Creating Human Relationships Through Human Intelligence Not Artificial Intelligence

FWD operates on the fundamental understanding that the most advanced technology for human connection is still human. People inherently understand human compatibility, and can facilitate human connection, in ways artificial intelligence cannot. FWD leverages the distributed intelligence of thousands of human minds, lived experiences, and contextual understanding of personalities, values, interests, and needs to identify and build human connections rather than relying on a database and algorithm.

Establishing Safety and Openness Through Trusted People Not Algorithms

Every FWD introduction and recommendation accelerates relationship formation by creating credibility and psychological safety because the connection is made through a trust source. When someone we know says "you two should meet", makes a recommendation, or shares information with us—there's openness and trust that no algorithm can match.

Addressing the Social Media Loneliness Epidemic

Social technologies are not designed for people to work together to make human connections and build human relationships; instead, we have to go it alone. FWD alleviates this burden; it allows people to socially co-network on building human connection by resourcing their friends' altruism, relationships, knowledge, intuition, and experiences. We create a culture of support and generosity that is missing in existing social technologies. On FWD, people are not "alone, together" when they try to make new relationships.

Replacing the Social Media Addiction Model

Social media companies measure their success by the amount of attention they can drain from their users to convert it into profit. People pay the price with addiction, depression, anxiety, overwhelm, and limited attention spans. FWD disrupts this model by measuring success in terms of connections formed, not screen time accumulated. We have no ads, content feeds, or feedback loops. We limit the number of recommendations and suggestions you receive each day but allow for unlimited introductions by your friends.

Changing the Digital Reward System

Social platforms are designed to activate the brain's reward system with likes, followers, content feeds, and feedback loops—negatively impacting our well-being. FWD activates the brain's reward system in a different way: with acts of service, kindness and support—positively affecting mental and physical health and happiness. Each FWD introduction and recommendation made, bit of information shared between friends, and nudge of encouragement to follow through on a connection creates reciprocal benefits for the helper and the person helped, through states of helper's high and gratitude. People feel good, for good reasons, and are reminded how, together, we can move forward when we make a practice of lending a helping hand to each other.