The Path not taken

I just had my (roughly) quarterly Path checkin where I open the app and see if anyone I know is still using it. No-one new and certainly not any close friends or family members I would hypothetically connect with on Path.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but notice how nice the app is, particularly on my iPad. The design just seems to keep getting better (from my lay person perspective) and it is a big pity it didn’t take off in my social circles.

I was poking around in the “Add friends” screens and noticed a proximity based mechanism which is pretty cool. Notice the “In Person” option:

If you select that you have a nifty interface to scan a prospective friend’s QR Code. It is a nice, simple way to add a friend in a context that reinforces the whole close friends and family social network idea.

I still like Path’s model, more or less, and even though they have a spotty privacy record, the main reason it just isn’t that relevant (still) is its relative ghost town status. Facebook and Google+ are just more relevant.