Recently, a newly launched meta-universe social App "Gel" quickly became popular, rushing to the top of the App Store list and free social list. However, with the increase in popularity, doubts about the platform's leakage of user privacy and virtual clothing plagiarism continue to ferment on social platforms.
Subsequently, Gel denied the above rumors and announced that during the large-scale upgrade of the system, it took the initiative to remove from the app store and suspend the entry of new users to solve problems such as delays, flashbacks, and inability to enter, focusing on improving the experience of existing users. And that's less than a month away.
An industry insider who did not want to be named believes that the future direction of gel depends on the continuous download volume and attention of the app after it is re-launched, whether it is a flash in the pan or will continue to grow, testing the real concept of the product given by the operation team.
The gel benchmarks WeChat, backs up to cyber elephant group, and hitchs a ride on the concept of "meta-universe"
On January 19, the gel app went live with its first version and completed five updates in less than a month. On the afternoon of February 10, it topped the list of all free apps in Apple's App Store in China, and the second place was WeChat, which has more than 1.3 billion monthly active users.
Qimai data shows that as of February 12, the download volume of Apple devices since the launch of Gel is expected to be 1.85 million, the cumulative download volume in the past three days is 1.22 million, and the download peak is on February 11, with 435,000 downloads in a single day.
Compared with WeChat, it is still much higher. In the past month, the average daily download volume of the former Apple device was 298,000, and the cumulative download volume in the past three days was 1.0133 million.
The Blue Whale TMT reporter experience found that the gel is positioned to socialize with acquaintances, allowing only 50 close friends to be added. At present, there are 5 first-level menus of homepage, message, posting, chat and personal homepage, which are not significantly different from most social software.
Its main feature is that users can create their own avatars and hook up on the metaverse concept. "The avatars on the gel line are cute, you can choose your own shape, pinch your face, and share my location and status with my friends to form an intimate interaction." A gel user showed reporters his homepage.
In the introduction of the app store, the gel means that the platform is not grouped, not blocked, and not visible for three days; only the Plog of the photo of the day is allowed to be published.
"Judging from the above description, gel's main target social product is WeChat, and one of the reasons why it can burst into flames is based on virtual 3D image acquaintance social networking, which can add up to 50 close friends, so that it pays more attention to strengthening the connection between users than ordinary social products." Some analysts said.
Another reason for the roar is that it is backed by giant capital. According to the Tianyancha App, the main company of Gel is Beijing Yidian Entertainment Technology Co., Ltd., which is 100% owned by Beijing YidianWangju Technology Co., Ltd. The investment lineup of One Point Network is luxurious, including Xiaomi, Perfect World, OPPO, Phoenix Network, etc., and its core product is Little Information (later renamed Cyber Elephant Group).
For the continuous rise in the popularity of the software, the relevant person in the gel said, "We will put all our energy into the polishing and user experience level of the product, and did not choose to promote, the first of the list is the data feedback that the user's needs are met." ”
The storm of leaking privacy has not subsided, and the storm of virtual clothing plagiarism has re-emerged
On the second day of the list of the gel to the top, its official Weibo released a statement to debunk the rumors, explaining the existence of private information such as the use of users' WeChat id and QQ number on the Internet. It said that after verification, the online news is not true, the incident is a competitor against the gel organized and planned defamation, the company has collected relevant evidence and reported to the police.
Subsequently, Gel's product manager also responded to this, saying that he had never read and leaked the user's personal information without authorization. "Platform traffic has become much larger than expected, and at this scale, when products are scrutinized by hundreds of millions of people, both malicious and benign will be amplified."
On February 13, the "gel leakage of user privacy" incident ushered in a follow-up. According to the jelly side, in response to the infringing party's malicious fabrication and dissemination of false information, a lawyer has been entrusted with evidence preservation of the infringing information, and will take all legal measures including but not limited to initiating civil lawsuits, reporting to relevant administrative departments, and reporting to public security organs against the relevant responsible entities for malicious fabrication and dissemination of false information. In the statement, the App also listed a number of Weibo account names.
However, wave after wave, wave after wave. Accessories brand "The JINGINGLAB" posted that Gel copied its own designs, and accompanied by pictures showing the brand's 2021 Dream Bubble Girl series product "Dream Bubble Flower Down Cross-body Bag" and the "Flower Bag" on the Gel Dressup Page.
At the same time, some users broke the news that the clothes provided by Gel were exactly the same as their own, "Although it is difficult to determine infringement from the law, from a moral point of view, should such a reference be asked in advance?" The user thinks.
In this regard, the gel side responded that in response to the design copyright and other issues raised by recent users, it was understood that the relevant descriptions did not match the facts. In order to provide users with a better product experience, a more stringent internal audit mechanism will be established.
The meta-universe exploded for more than a year, can the gel take advantage of the east wind to ride the momentum?
Under the turmoil, the investigation results of the "leak of user privacy" incident have not yet been announced, but the Gel App has issued a statement to remove it from the app store.
The platform explained that because the Caton problem has not been solved, delay, flashback, inability to enter and many other problems do exist, the company chose to take the initiative from the app store during the large-scale upgrade of the system, suspend new user entry, and focus on improving the existing user experience. Whether it can continue its previous popularity after re-listing remains to be seen.
It is worth mentioning that the gel with the concept of the metaverse has caused many questions at the same time as the explosion, believing that its main avatar, QQ show, ZEPETO, etc. have long been online, and the relationship with the metacosm is not close.
After all, in 2021, the hottest market concept is the "meta-universe", and the performance and market value of many companies that hitched the meta-universe express have soared. Bloomberg Industry Research reports predict that the meta-universe will reach a market size of $800 billion by 2024, and PwC expects the meta-universe market size to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.
An industry insider who did not want to be named believes that the future direction of gel depends on the continuous download volume and attention of the app after it is re-launched, whether it is a flash in the pan or a continuous growth, testing the real concept given to the product by the operation team.
It is undeniable that in the booming market, the metacosm is bound to bring about subversive changes in product experience and business model. This means that social products such as gel may have innovative commercialization models outside the traditional monetization paths such as advertising, games, and e-commerce.
Speaking of the future, the relevant people of Cyber Elephant Group expressed the hope that with the power of matrix, multi-faceted forces such as information flow, social networking, scenes, and content production will be brought together, and more innovative products like gel will continue to be developed. "Forming your own product force, forming your own system and product line, this is where you really need skill."