Where community meets accountability: The Bitcoin Bridge talks to George Siosi Samuels of Honā

Do you want to take more accountability for your life? For most of us, the answer is a resounding yes. That’s the basis behind new social accountability app Honā. The app allows users to set a commitment and stake money on their success. If they achieve their goals, they get their money back and if they don’t, it goes into a community pot. This week The Bitcoin Bridge speaks to Honā’s founder George Siosi Samuels to find out more.

George explains that community is a key focus for Honā. Members can sponsor each other’s commitments, incentivising productivity, or act as an accountability buddy for other members, ensuring they stay on track.

He believes that group encouragement motivates users and says that many of those in the Honā community “really enjoy the process of being witnessed.”

He gives an example of one user called Steve who he finds particularly engaging. Her commitment is to walk every day for 30 days and “she has these posts where she’s putting these beautiful pictures of … flowers along her walks in the Netherlands.”

Steve is just one of 629 members who have joined the Honā community, even though it’s still in a private beta stage.

The platform, built on the BSV blockchain, also aims to help users focus on their journey to reaching their goals, rather than just fixating on the destination.

Members can store information, including micro-commitments and micro-actions on the blockchain. George believes that recording this data helps people to honour their commitments and learn from their mistakes.

George tells The Bitcoin Bridge that the idea for the app came out of his involvement with productivity group The Pack which aims to motivate its members through group accountability online.

He has also been inspired by popular behavioural science, including James Clear’s Atomic Habits, which encourages readers to stack habits on top of each other.

In this episode, George also discusses his ambitious plans for the future of Honā. He wants to introduce a scoring system so users can rate their buddies and earn points that can be used to claim rewards. He also wants to integrate smart contracts into the system so funds can go straight to users, minimising human intervention and maximising transparency.

He hopes the app will be available to the public by the end of the calendar year. Until then, any accountability seekers are encouraged to put their names on the waitlist.