At the moment when the concept of metaverse is exploding, virtual social networking based on the Internet is gradually carrying the vacant spiritual communication and sustenance for users. Among them, with the slogan "Follow the soul to find you", it focuses on young people's social metaverse. The platform's APP, Soul, relies on its unique style on this track to gradually stand out and secure the top spot in the virtual social platform.
Each Soul user has a unique virtual identity and can post updates based on this. The Soul system will comprehensively analyze the user's personal attributes and interests and hobbies, and make personalized content recommendations through intelligent algorithms. With the support of this recommendation system, users can freely make new friendships in the virtual space, completely getting rid of the geographical restrictions in reality, and there is no need to build on the basis of real social interaction. This kind of virtual social interaction stemming from common interests and values is exactly what Soul defines as the "social metaverse".
But the reality is cruel. Soul has not raised the banner of the domestic social metaverse, at least from the data point of view, not yet.
According to the new version of the prospectus submitted by Soul to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, from 2020 to 2022, Soul's revenue figures continued to rise significantly: reaching 498 million yuan, 1.281 billion yuan and 1.667 billion yuan respectively. The growth trend is obvious, but Soul However, its profitability has always been in the red: the annual losses in the past three years were 579 million yuan, 1.324 billion yuan and 509 million yuan respectively.
At the same time, the number of monthly active users of Soul did not increase with the increase in revenue, but showed negative growth. The number of monthly active users in 2022 has shrunk by 7.3% year-on-year. Soul's previous slogan of "social metaverse" obviously did not become the driving force for the expansion of its user base because metaverse became a hot word.
Soul attempts to integrate virtual social interaction with the concept of the metaverse. However, to become a representative of the Metaverse, more innovation and breakthroughs are needed. The key features of Metaverse social interaction include identity, social interaction, immersive experience, low latency, diversification, localization, economic system and civilization construction, etc. In the process of promoting the socialization of the metaverse, Soul still has room for improvement in many of the above key areas, and has not been able to achieve a true breakthrough or subversion.
However, it's not just Soul that's struggling in this competition. On the other hand, Era, the world's leading Web3 social platform, has also begun to emerge. Different from Soul, Era cleverly combines digital asset management and social interaction through its integrated Social Wallet layer. With its diverse functions, Era is catering to the trend of the social metaverse, connecting users and shaping a new the digital social era.
Whether it is Soul or Era, they provide users with the opportunity to explore the virtual social world in this digital era full of infinite possibilities. As technology continues to develop and user needs evolve, these platforms will continue to iterate and improve, opening up a path to the metaverse for us, connecting virtuality and reality, and creating a new digital social era. The future of the Metaverse is full of challenges, but also full of hope. We can look forward to seeing this digital social revolution continue to evolve, creating richer and more diverse virtual social experiences for users.