01
People first, not the algorithm.
Bayou gives you the controls to see what you want and share with who you want.
A new way to connect.
Create, discover, and deepen connections between you and what matters most. A social network for you, by you.
Private beta · Invitation required
Relationships are complex.
Bayou treats connections with importance because it’s often our relationships to people and things that create the significance. It’s time that social networks begin to optimize for creating, discovering, and deepening connections.
02
Connect to anything, any way.
Usually, your favorites are more nuanced than a simple ‘heart’. Bayou can model these relationships differently and with different weights so that your discovery adapts to you.
03
Scroll less, connect more.
Rather than an infinite feed, discover things and events to keep you in tune with what’s important to you.
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Bayou started from a frustration: there is effectively infinite information in the world and it’s becoming difficult to navigate through it. The networks and platforms hosting this information start to push you down their path that prioritizes engagement minutes and ad-revenue. Their algorithms are extremely advanced and optimize for metrics that benefit their business, not your overall fulfillment. We need new ways of navigating through this world of infinite things to see, do, and experience. And it starts by slowing things down, with Bayou.
Bayou starts with you. Think of Bayou like a smart journal where you can create connections with things that you highly recommend. Do you have a list of books that you always recommend your friends? A new show you’ve been watching? A place you just have to revisit with one of your friends? In my experience, some of the best things are recommended by friends. Even when they’re not, we end up with a shared experience that we can talk about together. It helps us learn more about one another, have fun, and experience this world of infinite possibilities — together.
There is no infinite feed here and no audience you did not choose. You decide who sees each place, plan, and collection, and you can change your mind whenever you want. Our measure of success is not how long you stay on Bayou — it is what happens after you close it.
Good discovery begins with people you trust.
Save a recommendation, share a place, make a plan, and keep the thread that connects them. Bayou is a calmer front door to the world around you.
Private until you decide otherwise.
Nothing here is public by default and nothing gets resurfaced to strangers. You choose who sees each place, plan, and collection—and you can change your mind later.
Collections that hold on to the context.
Group places, notes, and plans into collections you keep to yourself or hand to a friend. Everything stays attached to who shared it and why it mattered.