Discord is paying for teens to give each other compliments

We’re here and we’ve been doing this with regards to social media. A new and fast-growing app offers a way for online users to share inspiration and encouragement. Early social media successes focused on positive impact, dating back to Facebook’s role in the global “democratization” of the Arab Spring at some point in the history of most social media companies.

The world has come a long way since the Arab Spring. We’ve thought a lot about both the benefits and risks of social media, including its potential health and wellness impact on teens.Seattle Public Schools recently submitted lawsuit Arguing against TikTok, Meta, Snap and more about the youth mental health crisis caused by social media.

Social media also faces one of the biggest legal challenges of all time. The Supreme Court has set the tone Consider whether the statute of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act should give these companies immunity from liability claims for user content.

So there’s good reason why social media’s next big thing should be all positive. His Discord, a social media company, announced this week the acquisition of Gas, a fast-growing social media company designed to foster positive affirmations.

“Gus is all about uplifting and empowering each other through positive affirmation. Their tremendous success shows that opportunities exist to create a playful and meaningful place for young people.” Discord said. blog post About trading. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gas allows users to anonymously share their compliments with each other through polls. Also, as TheVerge noted in its report on the deal, “The app is designed for anonymous compliments and positive affirmations. Or, as the kids say, stun your friend.”

the app won growing popularity among teenagers. Just two months after its August launch, Gas Beyond TikTok and BeReal Apple’s App Store free apps ranking reaches 1 million daily active users. was crowned as “Hottest Apps Right Now” by The Wall Street Journal. In October, it boasted 30,000 new users per hour.

Gus already had early problems. Unfairly caught in a sex trafficking hoax this fall, Forced founders to respond After 3% of users have deleted their accounts.

But Gas continues to grow as a place for teens to socialize, with 7.4 million installs.

If you’ve never heard of gas, it didn’t come out of nowhere.Founder Nikita Bia used to tbh, another voting-based app, sold to Facebook Released in 2017, the app was shut down less than a year later due to low utilizationNevertheless, Discord said in a blog post, “Gas’ founders have a proven track record of creating exciting apps and experiences.”

Snapchat’s platform has multiple anonymous voting apps, such as Yolo and LMK, where users can ask their friends questions and answer anonymously. They are far from immune to abuse. last year, no snap Anonymous messaging app.

Anonymity features pose certain forms of risk to user safety and can increase harassment, but Gas says it bypasses these obstacles with a poll consisting of Gas-approved compliments. These compliment prompts prevent users from creating their own surveys or sending Direct Her messages that may contain harmful content.

Gas itself explains in its app description: 3) Answer the questionnaire 4) Fire when picked. ”

Discord has had its own share of safety issues related to its success among younger demographics, as reports of harassment on the platform have increased in recent years. has invested heavily in and acquired Sentropy, an AI-based software company focused on fighting online abuse and harassment.this is Latest Transparency Reportpublished in December 2022, the company disabled 42,458 accounts and removed 14,451 servers during the third quarter of 2022.

Having entered the social app scene in 2015 as a platform for video game players to chat with each other, Discord has expanded beyond its roots as an alternative to spotty Skype chats for gamers.Two degrees CNBC Disruptor 50 The company has gone beyond primarily gaming-based uses to include a voice chat platform and livestream capabilities for more common use cases, allowing users to monetize their servers.

With social audio booming, Discord released the Stage channel in 2021 to give users a new way to organize and host large audio events. In July, we released Threads, a way to fork conversations from a channel’s main feed without deleting them from the channel. The company also has a premium his membership feature, where creators and community owners can request a subscription to access all or part of their servers, take advantage of tiered perks, and more about member engagement. You can view your analytics.

Microsoft was reported to have placed a bid for the company at one point, but no deal was reached.

Discord does not make money from advertising, unlike the first-generation social media giants, so it has more in common with Gas beyond its focus on a younger demographic. Gas earned nearly $7 million in user spend through paid subscription features such as “God Mode,” which gives users hints about who gave them a compliment.

For the time being, Gas will operate as a standalone app, but that doesn’t rule out voting as the new way to communicate on Discord.

“We are always working to create an inclusive world where no one feels like an outsider, and we are thrilled to welcome Gus to the Discord community as the next step in realizing that vision. ,” Discord said in a blog post.

As many social media apps have done in the past, one of the most difficult tasks companies face is keeping their stories positive.