Hater is a new app, unveiled at the 2013 SXSW conference, that encourages users to share their grievances rather than post about all their favorite things.
On the Hater app, users don't press the like-button for their friend's posts and pictures, they hate them instead, banding together and bonding over the frustrations of everyday life, such as bad weather, traffic delays or the rising trend of the duck face.
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Like Instagram, users have a feed where they can share text-based "rants," upload or take pictures and tag their friends or followers. Others can can share in the misery, contributing their own pain points and bonding over the mutual dislikes. The most hated items are bubble up to the top of the popular lists, providing a real-time feed about things people hate.
Despite being a social network entirely dedicated to hate, Hater isn't worried about cyber bullying. "Online bullying occurs on every social network, regardless of the theme of each app," said Holly Dietrich, project manager for the Hater app. "Hater has methods for reporting any inappropriate posts, and we think the app can actually have positive results from all the hate."
Dietrich explained that great things can happen when people band together and hate the negative things in the world, such as cancer and war. Despite the app's negative bend, the team has lofty dreams, giving people a place to vent their hatred in order to bring about positive change in the world. And maybe they'll reduce the number of Crocs wearers while they're at it.
Hater just hit the iOS App Store today, just in time for the Interactive portion of SXSW. While the company did express that they're hoping to expand to other platforms, there are currently no official plans to evolve beyond Apple's ecosystem. A move which many Android users would 'hate' if they had the chance.
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