Is it already ‘game over’ in the metaverse for Bondee, Singapore’s avatar-based app?
- After garnering two million downloads within two weeks of its launch, Bondee’s Gen Z users have got past the novelty factor
- Bondee’s is a story of social media hype punctured by a sharp truth that the loyalty of digital natives is hard-earned, experts say
Yet Bondee’s moment in the sun may reveal the challenges that the region’s metaverse developers face, experts say, with none so far hooking a crowd large enough to trouble social media giants, such as Meta which has ploughed billions of dollars into the digital future.
Friends are capped at 50 by the app’s Singapore-based creators Metadream, in an effort to keep the community tight, relevant and connected.
Aqil Lim, 25, said he enjoyed being able to visit his friends’ virtual homes, even more as “we don’t have our own homes in real life” in the expensive Asian city state.
But the novelty quickly wore off as Bondee felt “primitive, with limited customisations and chat functions”, Lim said, adding that after a few weeks he hardly uses the app.
This also comes after reports of social media users using the term #ripbondee while recording themselves uninstalling the app.
Avatars alone can’t draw people in, it’s what the entire platform allows you to do with your avatar that gives the platform its stickiness
“Avatars alone can’t draw people in, it’s what the entire platform allows you to do with your avatar that gives the platform its stickiness,” said Lim Sun Sun, a professor of communication and technology at the Singapore Management University (SMU).
The cutesy aesthetics and whimsical feel of Bondee was a “nice hook” but if there isn’t anything else after that, then it is quite literally, “game over”, she said, adding that this will be a challenge for metaverse developers to meet.
Singaporean Joey Tan, 23, saw videos on TikTok about Bondee and became “curious about what the hype was about”.
But given the newness of the app, not many of her other friends were on it, an apparent failure to reach a “critical mass” which quickly sees new tech fizzle.
02:17
Tech companies in China chase metaverse opportunities in immersive virtual online world
Singapore edge
Singapore’s tech start-up scene has flourished in recent years – with 11 Singapore-based start-ups attaining unicorn status, which is hitting a valuation of US$1 billion, in 2021 alone, according to the city state’s Trade and Industry Minister.
Singapore also boasts a burgeoning reputation as an incubator of new ideas, finishing first in Asia in Startup Blink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2022.
But the metaverse is the holy grail with the potential of bringing up to US$1.4 trillion per year by 2035, according to a study by Deloitte.
01:48
Fans recreate kung fu star Bruce Lee’s demolished Hong Kong mansion in metaverse
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Kyra, an influencer from Mumbai, has racked up 216,000 Instagram followers since her debut in January 2022 and has since modelled for advertisements.
It is a space of endless possibility, say experts, but take up will depend on consumer expectations and understanding of the new digital realm.
[Users] gravitate to any platform which they believe could allow them to be authentic … be accepted and supported
Early adopters may want the “full shebang” such as the ability to touch and smell along with a full immersive experience, Professor Lim said, while the majority probably still have no idea what they want from the metaverse and see it as a “kind of souped up online experience” at this point. Part fad, part functionality, Bondee’s remarkable initial surge reflects the nature of young communities glued to their phones.
Jeremy Sng, a lecturer from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, whose research focuses primarily in social media, said self-expression and connection were the two aspects that “came through the strongest” from his own experience with the app.
Young social media users will “gravitate to any platform which they believe could allow them to be authentic … be accepted and supported,” said sociologist Tan Ern Ser.
Yet like most new tech across Asia, privacy and security questions were quick to surface with Bondee, including the company’s links to Chinese tech firm True.ly and allegations of credit card misuse.
Metadream quickly refuted the claims in an Instagram statement, assuring users that rumours of a data leak were false and the firm does not collect credit card information, adding a “precautionary review” had been undertaken to ensure the personal data of its users was safe.
The app makers did not reply to This Week in Asia requests for comment.
Race to own the future
Tech experts warn metaverse developers have a hard task to keep a restless crowd from migrating to the next big thing.
Platforms need to offer functions that will have people “visiting and revisiting” the app, such as Facebook’s News Feed, said Lim from SMU.
In addition to privacy and different societal needs, there is an inbuilt challenge to new apps seeking to become game-changers.
Malaysia, Singapore sign deals to deepen ‘long-standing and immutable’ ties
Given how new the metaverse is, many will find its functions limited or jarring, said Natalie Pang, senior lecturer and deputy head at the National University of Singapore’s communications and new media division.
New tech needs to find a “use-case or purpose that will drive or motivate a critical mass to adopt”, she said. “That purpose for the critical mass is still not so clear and still being explored.”
But Pang said the Bondee phenomenon does shine a light on the possible ways ahead for metaverse makers, by connecting deeply with a smaller circle of friends, striking a chord with a Gen Z crowd increasingly “mindful” of the quality of their social media use.
For many young Singaporeans, the metaverse remains a discovery for another day.
Social media is “already doing a good job at retaining its users,” said university student Andrew Lim, 25. “There isn’t much significant change or advancement pushing them to newer platforms.”
