Bondee: A Singapore based budding Metaverse and why it's Super Promising
These days, both TikTok and Instagram have been going a little crazy over a new social media app – Bondee.
It is a 3D world that allows you and your friends to live together.
Each of you get to have your own little room to customize, and you can visit each other’s rooms and stick a note for them in their room.
You can also upload real photos for the app to place them on your room wall!
This is primarily a social media app with a 3D virtual world and its own currency (B-Beans) in your own blockchain-based wallet to purchase NFT products in the future.
WOW.
Here are some reasons why Bondee makes a super promising Metaverse.
1. Users Acquisition Success
Bondee is only launched late 2022, and we are already seeing its hype all over.
The ease of use (simply download the app and key in your mobile number to start) makes it accessible to anyone with a smart phone.
It is also very easy to invite friends into your world – either provide them your QR code to scan or let them know your ID.
This means we can only expect the user numbers to grow exponentially (if users don’t get bored).
2. Web3 Integration
Unlike the current metaverses that are already very popular with the young – Roblox and Minecraft, Bondee announced that their currency is going to be tied to a blockchain-based wallet.
The current problem with integrating Web3 Tech into a metaverse is accessibility. When you want to use blockchain wallet, you are losing out on a huge crowd of users who are not yet on board such a fancy tech.
What Bondee did right was to first create a simple enough app and get users on board and then if they want to spend on that app later, allow them to do so via a block-chain wallet. Otherwise, they may also exist in that app. This makes it both inclusive and future ready.
We all know that it is a matter of time web3 tech and metaverse will need to co-exist. So, why not just decide to do it now. In this aspect, Bondee already has an edge over Roblox and Minecraft.
3. Great Avatar Design
Avatar design is important because it represents the individuals on the metaverse.
Avatars in Horizon World have no legs and users just can’t sit right with that.
Avatars in Roblox look too awkward and not human-like at all.
Those in Minecraft are the worst.
But those in Bondee – they’re so cute and well dressed that we see people starting to dress up exactly like their avatars in real life as well!
4. Social Oriented Design
What keeps people on an app – Discovery and Social Content.
Current metaverses focus primarily on Discovery content – experiences, and secondarily on Social.
However, Bondee focuses first and foremost on the social aspect.
You build your world around your real life social circle, creating your own safe virtual space with those whom you like.
At the moment, existing in that virtual world does not allow you to meet new people or join new experiences. However, it allows you to form deeper connection with someone you already know in real life.
This is a space that other metaverses have not explored – helping people to create deeper connections with their existing circle of friends.
This really could have been what Facebook could achieve, but failed to do so unfortunately.
5. Potential Discovery Experiences
There is this part of Bondee that nobody understands – the sailing.
When you choose to sail, you are put on a boat and go off to nowhere.
I personally suspect this really could be where Bondee wants to build for discovery experiences – something all Metaverses ought to have.
You can’t just stay in your room all day – people will start to get bored.
They need to join experiences together – and this will be how Bondee can successfully turn itself into a complete Metaverse.
What's lacking - Co-creation
Co-creation is BIG moving forward. It’s the very reason why some platforms will fail and others will thrive.
TikTok is a co-creation platform. It provides tools for people to create and share videos very easily and consistently build on its ecosystem of effects to help more people show up creatively on the platform.
This goes the same for Roblox and Minecraft – the very reason why they will increasingly have more uses compared to Horizon World, Decentraland and Sandbox.
Any platform that wants to succeed moving forward needs to allow users to create, and consistently work on ease of creation for users.
The next generation does not just want to consume. They need to create.
How is Bondee going to incorporate the co-creation element before everyone gets bored?
Designing your own room is not enough. Users need to be able to do more than that.
Conlusion
Did Bondee just kill Facebook?
Possibly.
The next generation is not going back to Facebook for sure, with Bondee. It is a better version of Facebook in fact. Metadream (Bondee’s company name) could really truly be Meta’s “dream” come true.
