What's your most embarrassing internet search?
+ it's Diem's official launch day !!!!!!!
Our Google search history can feel like one of the most exposing and embarrassing things about us. You know what I mean. Whether you’re looking up whether or not Chad Michael Murray is married (he is), diving into the depths of a 10-year-old forum about the unexpected effects of Plan B on periods, or searching how to feel less social anxiety — Google has seen a lot of us. For more personal searches, like the latter, I often think of a search bar as an insight into human psyche. So often, when we’re searching into the abyss of the internet for answers, we’re not only looking for information, but validation. And validation is hard to find in SEO ranked web pages—it’s more commonly discovered in the stories we tell each other.
Our searches, including our personal health questions, currently also define our experience on the internet at large. These searches literally follow us around and influence the ads we’re fed, the videos we watch, etc.
In short, search is a crucial feature of the internet, but it isn’t what it used to be.
Others have called out that browsing the internet doesn’t feel magical anymore. There’s no serendipity or personalization. We are technically more connected than ever and want answers to many of the same questions, and yet when we search, we never seem to find each other? SEO-ranked results make you feel isolated, and I want better for us. It’s interesting, because we’re unfiltered when we ask Google a question—there’s a feeling of anonymity, which is in direct contrast to the highly filtered social media spaces we also frequent. Maybe searching should be…social?
I’ve previously written about why searching for experiences, stories and conversations is so hard online; conversations as knowledge remain largely unacknowledged. It’s weird, given how important and candid private group chats or late night talks over wine can be. It’s well-documented that we disregard important topics as women “gossiping,” and I believe communication structures (and now, social platforms) have done little to build systems inspired by the urge most women feel to incessantly pass information. The value we place on these conversations (which are wells of knowledge for women) also impacts how data is stored. If these conversations were deemed more valuable, they would be indexed differently online. They would be more searchable and easier to access. Think about the last time you tried to drum up a recommendation or experience that was shared with you in a group chat. How easy was it?
You can probably tell where I’m going with this but…we’ve built you something better at Diem.
It’s live, public and you’re the first to know that we’re officially out of beta! Diem is waiting for you today to start conversations around all those important, silly, quick, private, and frenetic questions, and you can access it on web and iOS (Android next week!)
On a slightly more emotional note—this day has been many years in the making. For those who are newer here, we’ve been working away on Diem since 2020 and have been in public beta since October 2021. We’ve tested a lot of things, we’ve learned a ton and we’re so unbelievably appreciative of everyone in our beta community who so generously explored, tested, shared knowledge, and provided feedback as we worked through all the typical consumer social teething problems. Our belief since the earliest days of Diem is that communities are shortcuts to the right information and we wanted to build you the place we all need. A place where we can easily search for answers from real people, where all that information is indexed and searchable, forever. Diem is where you can go when your friends don’t have the answer or just to ask those questions you’re secretly pondering. There’s no judgment here.
Here’s a few of my personal favourite topics the community is Dieming about, so you get a sense of the vibe…
Our social search technology means Diem gets better the more we use it. I’m 99% sure that Diem is the first generative AI model draws from women and non-binary people’s real-world conversations. It’s also the first to synthesize all of our experiences and turn them into valuable resources for everyone. On the technical side, it’s truly so cool what’s going on behind the scenes. I hope you’ll feel a sense of power in Diem, and realize the true value in the conversations you have. I hope you feel less embarrassed and more “normal” every time you ask Diem a question. I hope you can make another person feel normal by sharing your own story. Perhaps you’ll make new Internet BFFs. We say Diem is inspired by the way women have shared information for centuries and I hope that, as we grow, that it does justice to the centuries of intergenerational knowledge sharing and all those underground whisper networks before us.
Our search technology wouldn’t exist without the conversations the Diem community has already had, so I hope you enjoy what you’ve technically created for yourselves. Here’s a digital toast 🥂 to making searching the Internet magical again.
We can’t wait to see you in there.
Download and join Diem via web or iOS today (Android next week)! The more conversations we have the better Diem becomes for everyone 💫 so come on over and join the fun!
+ New Yorkers! Keep your eyes on our Instagram, we have a scavenger hunt for you to celebrate!
What we’re reading…
The Indian Village cultivating girl’s Big League dreams (NY Times)
I’m on Ozempic. Please stop making me feel bad. (Glamour)
Meet the people working 3 jobs to afford Erewhon (The Cut)
The mental health crisis inside California women’s prisons (STAT)
See you in Diem!!!!
Emma
co-founder, Diem