NeoWorlder has innovated at every step, and our social communication product is no different. We examined issues encountered with social media, such as spamming, bots, trolls, sponsored advertising, influencer rewards, the visibility of games and marketplaces, and so on. We then established a thesis to address these issues and built an MVP to determine if it was viable.
The product amalgamates features from Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, WeChat, Zendesk, and FAQs into a single feed, as well as novel functionalities based on the Arindal Map (a Google-like platform where closing the slider reveals the map). We invite user feedback to refine our alpha and currently basic product.
Marks
This is analogous to Twitter’s follow and unfollow function. Users, vendors, and landmarks can be searched, and the “Mark” icon is clicked. A minimum of 0.02 Tickets is required for each mark; half of which is burned, and the other half given to the person who was marked. This is approximately 14 US cents. The person marked may also set up a “Swear Jar,” which holds Tickets as a bond for good behavior. If the person misbehaves and gets banned, this bond is burned, and the follower cannot mark them again until they are unbanned.
Our thesis is that this should reduce the use of spam accounts, and the inflation of follower count (as it incurs a cost). It also serves as a deterrent to misbehavior. Moreover, it allows for the formation of exclusive groups where the mark and Swear Jar fee can be raised. Lastly, it rewards those who are marked, providing a benefit for all users. Further conditions may be appended in the future, such as must be a verified user, etc. We believe this could create quality communication rather than volume.
Feed
Feed is where information is shared among users. They can enter a short bio of 20 characters or less, set their Swear Jar (if any), and post to their followers in one-to-one, one-to-many, or one-to-everyone formats. They can ask questions to the administrators privately or publicly, and seek answers in the Library for queries previously asked. In the future, it may also offer items for sale, where anyone in the feed can pay instantly, directly from the post.
The first five posts and the first five comments by any user are free. After that, a fee of 0.01 Tickets is paid for a post and 0.001 Tickets (or approximately $0.007) per comment. The author of the post receives 0.0005 Tickets for each comment. A “like” or a “dislike” is the same cost as a comment.
Occasionally, system-generated or global posts appear, such as the location of a God or a Demon, governmental notices, quizzes, weather advisories, etc.
Influencer Recognition
The social media does not have sponsored ads or posts. Instead, this is substituted with global posts by those at the upper levels of the Hall of Fame. Those ranked between 1 and 25 can post up to seven times as global posts per week. These appear in all users’ feeds. Ranks 26 to 100 can global post up to five times per week, 101 to 250 can global post up to three times per week, and between 251 and 500 only once a week.
Observations From Our Thesis
(a) Those in the top 500 of the Hall of Fame have disproportionately more visibility than anyone else. Consequently, they may be seen as the Influencers. As the point system is cumulative, early adopters are more likely to maintain an advantage over latecomers, as they must catch up by spending, playing, or donating. It would be possible to add further points for behaviors the community wants to encourage.
(b) It limits user-generated global content (the alternative to sponsored ads). Around 1,250 such posts can exist each week, thus restricting commercial content. Influencers could negotiate deals to post content for an advertiser, making them into influencer AdWords.
(c) It provides a gaming element to the social media experience, such as the more comments a post receives, the more the influencer gains, the more they can donate, and the more they can remain at the upper echelon of the Hall of Fame. Moreover, those with the most money are not the only ones who can become an influencer, as those who play and engage with the activities of Arindal can ascend the Hall of Fame ladder.
The Test Drive
As this is an alpha product, minor malfunctions may be present and some things may not work as intended. Nonetheless, we will iterate quickly to refine it, upgrade and continuously add functionalities to improve the product.
