Unless you’ve been on a digital detox the past week, it should have come to your attention that there’s a new social media platform out there and it’s taking over the whole of Asia by storm. See Bondee, the latest brainchild of local tech start-up Metadream. Where you can create your own avatars, chat and hang out with your friends and even choose to share snippets of your real life; the latter being reminiscent of another popular app that was all the buzz in the past year: BeReal.
With so much of our lives lived through the screen, it’s safe to say that our virtual lives are as essential as the ones we live in reality—and Bondee proves it knows that with its crystal clear focus on the user experience. It’s something you can glean right from the first time you open the application, as a lofty introductory video grants you a glimpse into what you can expect from your experience on the platform: spectacular visuals, buffered by an incredible degree of interaction and in-app feedback.
Whilst the social media platform has only just been released this month, there are clear reasons as to why it’s already so promising for the future of the metaverse. After trying it out for ourselves, it’s safe to say that its brilliance comes from a few simple concepts it gets right to a tee. The most prominent one, being the buildable quality of your in-app experience—from customising your digital avatars to increasing the number of potential interactions with your virtual friends.
Should you be planning to jump on board the Bondee train, here’s everything you can expect to be able to do on the platform.
1 / 5
Customise your own avatar
What Bondee gets absolutely right? Its degree of customisation. And a base avatar design that’s actually appealing to the eye. From the hairstyle and length of your avatar to skin colour and facial expressions, there are ample points of variation for you to differentiate your appearance from everyone else. It’s of note that Bondee doesn’t make you feel the need to specify or align your avatar with any specific appearance that’s more ‘in line’ with your gender.
There exists also a multitude of outfit options available no matter your inclinations and choice of in-app activity for the day; be it a swimwear get-up for a poolside party or a cute date fit for the cottagecore-inclined. Accompanying accessories range from necklaces and Airpods to a whole cat companion that’ll be resting on your head. And of course—you can create a variety of looks and have them saved in-app for ease of switching between different outfits for various occasions.
2 / 5
Decorate your living space
We said it before but we’ll say it again; customisation is key over here. And Bondee is hyper-aware of the fact that sometimes, being able to create a virtual version of yourself isn’t quite enough. Instead, the platform is much alike the popular video game ‘The Sims’ here—allowing you to design your own little living spaces, which you can then invite friends too. Considering how most of our private bedrooms are a visual extension of our preferences and tastes, this function broadens the scope of expression you can be granted— with your choice of wallpaper, furniture and even posters which you can upload your own photos to.
3 / 5
Chat and hang out with your friends
If customisation is its initial hook, perhaps here is where Bondee’s true secret lies. Many digital avatar applications out there that allow for a breadth of customisation hardly ever allow you to merge it with a viable presence in the metaverse.
With Bondee however, there’s an actual point to putting in so much effort into creating your digital avatar and decorating your living spaces. With a maximum capacity of 50 friends, you can choose to migrate your entire friend group into Bondee—with its in-app individual and group chat function. Whilst the number of activities are still limited, its current options allow you to do things like dance, camp or swing together in the main home space. You can also visit your friends’s rooms and leave little sticky notes for one another.
4 / 5
Share what you're doing in real life
Reminiscient of the BeReal experience, you can update your status with both text and photos—be it something from your gallery or a direct capture of what your real-life self is actually doing in that moment. It’ll be attached directly to your in-app avatar, who’ll be carrying it around like a little speech bubble over their head.
5 / 5
Sail out to meet new (virtual) friends
Whilst hanging out with your real-life friends online is an exciting and fun activity all on its own, Bondee has its sights set on the bigger picture. With its sailing function, you can expect to venture out into the (literal) horizon and meet new virtual friends who are also out in the open sea. By heading out, it’s an open invitation to interact with new people—by throwing bottles of notes or leaving virtual gear for others to find.
