The TikTokers Making Space for IRL Friendship
It was a pleasure talking to The Publish Press about using social media to create third spaces. Read the full article here.
We see it on our FYP almost daily now—people sharing their “friend applications” on TikTok in pursuit of community and third spaces. Creators are now stepping up to fill the void apps like Bumble BFF and Meetup never could.
Welcome to the creator third space, where IRL events are designed to bring together a creator’s community. One example? Nikol Moses’ Friends On Purpose (FOP), a social group for women in their 20s.
Moses started FOP last year after posting a TikTok looking for friends in her new city of Brisbane, Australia. Hundreds of women commented that they too were looking for community, which prompted Moses to start organizing free and ticketed events for people ages 20–35 to meet up for drinks, walks, and crafts.
The business angle: Next month, Moses is going full-time working on the group.
FOP makes money primarily through ticketed events, each of which welcomes about 40 people.
As FOP expands to more cities, past attendees will become hosts. Next, Moses plans to pursue sponsorships.
Why it works: “Seeing a face attached to a problem that you’re having makes it more relatable,” Moses told us. “And seeing someone in the same situation as you makes it easier to go [to an event] and is a more comfortable experience as opposed to the apps.”
The key for creators looking to build community, Moses said, is focusing on location and brand identity: “With the branding I’ve done I’m already attracting a specific group of people, mostly women in their 20s,” Moses said. Even so, Moses has gotten requests for more age groups and recently started events for ages 30–50.
Big picture: Moses is part of a growing group of creators building offline communities large and small—from health creator Kate Glavan, who hosts monthly run clubs for her 100k TikTok followers, to Slow Girl Run Club and Village Fairy Book Club, each with fewer than 6k followers but still fostering thriving communities.
