Though this might not be your standard social media news, it could still be worth noting. Trying to connect with younger age groups? Then you’d do well to stick around and read on. The famous gaming connection app Discord recently announced its acquisition of the rising social app ‘Gas’, which enables teens to send anonymous compliments to their friends.

Gas Up!

For a bit of context, Gas was created by former Facebook Product Manager Nikita Bier, who also created the very similar tbh, which Meta acquired in 2017. Gas specifically focuses on high school students, allowing users to sign up and join their school, and participate in positive polls and activities with their classmates.

Thus far, Gas has proven to be popular, regularly ranking in the App store’s top 10 most downloaded charts over the last couple of months. Gas has even beat out TikTok on some occasions. As of October, Gas was already seeing more than a million daily active users – just a mere month after it was launched and is available in only selected US regions. Gas even sports the framework of a non-ad-funded monetization system, with users able to pay $7 a week for ‘God Mode’, which gives users hints about who voted for them in polls, along with other perks.

Discord, despite already being huge in its own right, has been looking for ways to branch out into new areas, trying out new elements such as audio channels, as it seeks to go beyond its gaming roots. To be fair, the app did see a fair bit of boosting during the whole NFT boom, with almost every NFT project relying on Discord to build community. But, with that hype declining, Discord has begun seeking new opportunities as it works to become a bigger element in the social media landscape.

To that end, Gas could help Discord drive more usage, through enhanced connections with younger audiences – and, as noted, while it’s still a relatively minor consideration in terms of overall trends and shifts, it’s still worth noting down, especially given the app’s growth potential. Remember, modern gaming isn’t all about just gaming anymore – the gaming community is currently one of the biggest markets brands and businesses can look to tap into.

If Gas can effectively scale up and incorporate some extra engagement elements, like audio and visual tools, then it could well be a much bigger focus for many marketers looking to reach young audiences. Whether or not Gas or Discord would look to capitalize on such an opportunity is another question entirely, but there is a chance that Gas could be the youth app of 2023.

The Wrap

If Gas does become the new ‘place to be’ for young users, then that would spell new hurdles for the likes of TikTok, Instagram, and most especially, Snapchat. Snap is already waist-deep in trying to counter growth challenges, so if it gets superseded as a key connective app among teens, that could have major implications for the app’s future. Gas on its own might not be that much of a threat yet, seeing as it doesn’t even have messaging, but with Discord’s backing, the duo could prove to be major competition. The relative earliness of this acquisition and Gas itself makes it a bit fuzzy to immediately draw conclusions, but it’s a development that’s certainly interesting to watch unfold.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3WfHdkh