CHAPTER 9Hornet
By Christof Wittig (Founder and CEO)
About Hornet
Hornet is the world's top gay social network, with over 30 million users, providing a community home base that is available anytime, anywhere. Amplifying the radical, affirmative power of the LGBTQ+ community with cutting-edge technology, users feel comfortable sharing their experiences with friends who understand and validate their life. Hornet has become the number one gay app in markets such as France, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and Taiwan, and is rapidly expanding its sizable user base in the US.
Backdrop: Social Networking for the Gay Community
The social networking industry is sometimes dubbed the oil industry of the 21st century, alluding to its increasingly pivotal role in managing interpersonal relationships, the formation of opinion in societies, and its ability to extract oligopolistic profits from their dominant position in the marketplace due to network effects.
However, the industry is undergoing constant change, and the market leaders are experiencing clear signs of disruption. Innovative social media formats such as mobile, chat, or ephemeral video challenged the status quo and prompted large acquisitions, such as those of Instagram and WhatsApp. Later, entire subcommunities left the one-size-fits-all networks and found their own spaces, starting with young millennials (Snapchat and TikTok), business users (LinkedIn), news (Twitter), or athletes (Strava). The arrival of TikTok and Clubhouse shows ...
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