Campa, whats next
Getting Campa live on both iOS and Android has, honestly, taken longer than we ever expected. But it is finally out there, in people’s hands, being used, tested, criticised, and supported. That matters more than anything else.
Now that the core app exists, we can properly talk about what comes next for Campa, both immediately and further down the road.
We see improvement opportunities every single day. We log them all. We read every bit of feedback. Some of it stings, some of it confirms what we already knew, and some of it pushes us in directions we had not fully considered yet. That is exactly how this should work.
A big lesson learned
One of the biggest lessons from this first release is simple, we tried to do too much at once.
Building a map, profiles, trips, groups, socials, and infrastructure all in parallel is a fast way to spend your time fighting fires instead of polishing features. The upside is that we now have a solid, real foundation. People can see Campa, feel it, and back it. That gives us the freedom to slow down and do things properly.
From this point on, we are focusing on fewer things at a time, and giving each of them the attention they deserve.
The first major focus, socials
One of the most immediate areas we are tackling next is socials.
The version that shipped did its job, it proved the concept and showed that people want to connect inside Campa. But it has no long-term depth and not enough real value for the vanlife community as it stands. We are not interested in shipping a generic social feed just for the sake of it.
So we are rethinking socials from the ground up. Not just the feature set, but the polish, the structure, and the overall user experience.
A new social direction
We are moving towards a more unified, centralised social hub, while still keeping private groups as a first-class feature.
The key idea is separation of intent.
Private groups are for smaller, relationship-driven spaces. You and a few friends sharing trips, photos, plans, and updates. No heavy structure, no overthinking it. Just a shared place where everyone already knows each other.
Alongside that, we want larger, discussion-focused groups that are built for proper conversation. Topics, advice, debate, and shared knowledge. This is harder to pull off well in modern social apps, but it is something we are very familiar with from the days of forums and message boards. Think more along the lines of discussion-driven communities, closer to Reddit-style or old-school forums than a noisy global feed.
That thinking is what has led us down this route.
Ok, but then what?
In terms of feature set, we also see that the trip planner has missed its mark. Again, the initial idea is there, but there needs to be more.
While we do not have solid details or designs to share just yet (they are coming, and we will keep you all in the loop), we do want to reassure you that we are actively working on improvements, particularly bug fixes. Anyone who has emailed Anth six million times over the last few weeks can probably vouch that we are on it as best we can be right now.
And then after that?
Further out, planning and prep has already started.
While the socials and trip planner are largely user experience problems, this next phase is entirely greenfield. We did not ask for your van details for nothing. We want that data to actually work for you, the drivers.
And what better way can your van data work for you than a solid navigation system that guides you across the globe, with your friends 👀
Imagine the possibilities.
…wow the next few months are gonna be busy…
Have a great Christmas everyone 🎅