Product Sense: Helping People Who Share a Pastime Find One Another

Design a product or feature that helps people who share an interest or hobby find each other and connect. Explain what it should achieve, whom you would serve first, what keeps them apart today, what you would build first, and how you would know it is working. ```hint Start from the gap Pick one hobby and one kind of person who pursues it, then ask why the places where hobbyists already gather still leave that person without the connection they want. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Should the connection stay online, such as sharing work and advice, or lead to people meeting in person? - Is this a new standalone product, or a feature inside an existing Meta app such as Facebook Groups or Instagram? - Are we helping people find one or two partners, such as a running buddy or a chess opponent, or larger communities around a hobby? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal for the product and a definition of a successful connection, with the reason for both - Segments of hobbyists compared, with one chosen and the reason for the choice - Pain points for that segment, including what existing interest communities and event products leave unsolved - Solutions prioritized against explicit criteria into a first version, with a plan for having enough people in each hobby and area at launch - A primary metric with guardrails, and the trust, safety and privacy risks of connecting people who do not know each other ### Follow-up Questions - How would you get the product started for a niche hobby with only a handful of people in each city? - How would you tell meaningful connections apart from a large number of shallow ones? - If the feature raised the number of messages sent but also raised reports of unwanted contact, what would you change?