Genies 2.0 - Digital clones that look and think just like you

@akashrnigam @rrhoover This year has been insane. During our beta last year, we wanted to test the thesis if people like the PERSONALITY and the AESTHETICS of our avatar. Once we got that affirmation, we decided to build out the platform for what we think is going to be the next wave of communication: communicating through your digital identity. Nowadays, teens don't use iMessage or anything formal to talk to one another. They look for passive, indirect ways to grab each other's attention. Human interaction is never going to dissipate and the mediums of which we communicate is going to continuously evolve - we believe the foundation is set for avatars.

@akashrnigam @rrhoover @akash_nigam how do you quantify that people like the personality and aesthetics of your avatar? What counterfactuals have you considered? Can you give some other examples of "passive, indirect ways to grab each other's attention", and explain how Genies 2.0 supports those methods? Thanks!

@akashrnigam @rrhoover @akash_nigam that's all we use is iMessage and Snapchat bitmoji sometimes. I'm curious as to how you plan to get everyone to adopt this because snap/bitmoji users are your target demographic..

@akashrnigam @rrhoover @akash_nigam @edisonjoao6871 Synchronous communication. Kids chat synchronously all the time on all platforms - iMessage, Snap etc. You want to be close to each other. You *need* to be close to each other. Using a genie is the most comfortable, yet most expressive way to chat like this (i.e. you could be on the toilet yet you still feel like you're showing "face" :p)

@akashrnigam @rrhoover @akash_nigam @chrismessina We don't believe one can quantify art. We look for reactions :) - Regarding your 2nd point about attention, that's pretty much what drives IG/Snapchat teen behavior these days. Get attention (indirectly) from the people you care about. Kids are experts in this without even realizing it. Sending a snap, posting a story, posting an actual post, liking a post etc. are all ways to indirectly get attention from the 3-5 people you actually care about getting attention from. We built behavior into Genies where you can let everyone know you're online or just one person. Ping your crush with no worries - they have no clue how many people you pinged.

@carl_shaver i didnt got so far, when it started asking access to my contacts and notifications just to use it was the end for me, the avatar looks good though

@carl_shaver @neeph Promise not our intention! We chose contacts over usernames based off user testing and the app isn't usable without at least one friend on it (reason for contacts requirement). :) Notifications are actually optional btw!

@akashrnigam @wish_app realy so many people are liked this

We have a coordinated marketing strategy that our team is confident in.

@zee Notifications are optional! Contacts are required because app isn't usable without at least one friend on it :)

@moneymasternow1 you need to have friends to experience the app :) ..or else you'll just be talking to yourself :(

@moneymasternow1 @jclintandrews That doesn't address the question. I should be allowed to add contacts at my own leisure, instead of being forced to share my entire private list of contacts with an unknown entity. And I don't want yet another useless app forcing notifications on me. These things should be up to the user, and not be requirements to use the app. You should be ashamed of yourself for creating such an intrusive app in this day and age where user privacy is under attack.

@jakepaul @akashrnigam @genies_ @elizabethhunker Thanks :)

@alexwhitedev yep, for me too

@turnernovak iMessage/WhatsApp keyboard coming soon :)