MellowTalk: New Site Seeks To Match “Talkers” and “Listeners” In A Safe and Anonymous Setting

On occasion, I see a new website that I find intriguing on Reddit and this one caught my eye for a couple of reasons.  First, it is a high school student who has started a site to allow people to help other people to deal with issues that are bothering them.  Second, the creator is my oldest son, Benjamin.  Putting aside the obvious pride and bias, I thought that the premise of the site is intriguing.  MellowTalk allows people to communicate in strict anonymity and the participants select either “talker” or “listener” on the site.  It offers people a sounding board for discussing problems or issues in an anonymous and safe environment.  (Indeed, I know of a couple high ranking officials who could benefit for some anonymous and non-public venting).

 The site is different from a couple of other sites in how it works.  It creates an incentive based system to encourage people to fully adhere to their roles. On top of forced placement as listener and talker, the “thank” point system and leaderboard is designed to encourage helpful interactions.  The reward system of badges and gems is meant to offer an alternative to sites that simply punish bad listeners.  The site stresses that this is not clinical therapy. Rather, the site recognizes that people often just want to speak with other people in a friendly environment.