Overheard NY is the internet’s beloved Instagram project dedicated to millennial culture and its whimsical whereabouts. Over the years it’s gotten so successful that it now features three Instagram accounts including @OverheardLA, @OverheardSanFrancisco and @OverheardNewyork.
According to the project’s description, “Overheard is the insta-voice of our biggest cities; a unique media brand that satirizes millennial culture with engaging, localized content.” Its cult following can be traced to the project’s hip online store that sells anything from signature hoodies, office-friendly mugs and stickers to put on an apple you carry to work in a juice bar.
In a previous interview, Bored Panda spoke with the Overheard representatives who told us that the project has certainly grown over the last few years. Now, Overheard New York boasts a whopping 1.6M followers.
The creators told us that while their home will always be Instagram, they have begun to expand to other verticals “such as text via the community app Clubhouse, where we host a biweekly comedy show and are exploring some really exciting product ventures.”
In order to understand the success of Overheard, we have to address the fact that at its heart, Overheard is all about connecting people through a shared location or experience. The creators explained that “whether that is living in NYC (@overheardnewyork), dating on Bumble (@overheardbumble), or talking about celebrities (@overheardcelebs), it’s our goal to make people laugh and provide moments of joy and self-reflection.”
We can trace back the origins of the project way back to 2015 when its founder Jesse Margolis created Overheard LA and San Francisco on a whim after listening to one such conversation in LA at a health food store. Fast forward to today and it’s run by a team of seven creators.
“We are fortunate to work with great brands like Bumble, Le Labo, Netflix, etc. Currently, we see ourselves as social-first local media, and plan to expand into podcasts, local events, products, and more video content,” the representatives told us earlier.
Part of what makes Overheard NY so appealing is that it essentially celebrates common things people find relatable. Such shared experiences can be anything from finance, dating, work, food, spirituality, local knowledge, and so on.
