Noplace, a combination of Twitter and MySpace for Gen Z, reaches No. 1 in the App Store

Intended to bring “social media” back to “social media,” a new app called noplace has risen to the top of the App Store as it comes out of invite-only mode on Wednesday. Designed to appeal to a younger crowd – and anyone looking to connect with friends or shared interests – there's no place like the modern MySpace with its colorful, customizable profiles that allow people to share everything from relationship status, to who they are. listening or watching, what they read or do, and more.

It works well with its power in the often difficult consumer social market, no place that came out before its public launch because of its feature that allows users to express themselves by customizing their profile colors. While Gen Z may not have grown up with MySpace and all of its chaotic customization, there's still a sense of longing for social experiences they've never had.

“I think the magic part, the fun part of the internet is gone now. Everything is very similar,” says co-founder and CEO Tiffany Zhong, who founded her own startup investor fund, Pineapple Capital, and, in her youth, worked at Binary Capital, helping them find early-stage consumer deals.

Having dabbled in every consumer social app for the past decade, Zhong has a keen eye for the next big hit. He flagged Musical.ly in 2015 as a startup that would become the next Snap or Twitter, for example, after seeing how much traction it had with children and other young users.

He also regularly tweets his product information and analysis, especially about consumer apps, gaining him a following on social media. Given his background, it's no surprise that Zhong has well-developed ideas about what would attract today's young users to a new social networking app.

“I've always loved socializing,” he says, but adds that social media is no longer in demand. “Everything is media. It feels very disconnected.”

In part, that's because all of our content is now more personalized, says the founder. “We're looking at different content as well [following] different interests than our friends, so the community is difficult to find because of that,” he explained.

Since there is no place, the idea is to provide a place where people can follow their friends and find others who share their interests in one place.

The app offers a small, customizable profile where they can share what they're doing now and customize it to reflect their interests. Users' profiles can include tags, which the app calls “stars,” which are things they like or care about. For example, users may add their astrological sign, their Myers-Briggs personality type, hobbies or interests to their profiles, making them available to others.

But it's nowhere near a global group chat or Twitter/X competitor rather than Facebook, as it focuses on text-based reviews and doesn't support photos or videos yet.

“Facebook 10 years ago — or Facebook when I was using it in middle school — was cool stuff, life updates,” Zhong explained. “We don't get that anymore, do we?” he says. “You can follow [friends] on Instagram, but still stand out, little updates. “

And in a virtual environment, users are meant to share what they're currently doing, not what they've already done. If you're in a new city or watching a show or checking out a new band, that could be your status updates. The app offers two feeds, one with your friends and another global feed from everyone in the app and both are chronological. There are no private profiles.

People entering their age younger than 18 will also receive a very limited feed. The company focuses on moderation, having built its own internal dashboard for the purpose, and tasking the team with ensuring that users stay safe.

Instead of algorithms, noplace leverages AI technology to drive suggestions and curation. The app doesn't edit your feed, but uses AI to do things like provide summaries of what you've missed.

“We did that on purpose…having global, public food is what makes it so exciting. It's like everyone's mind on paper,” Zhong commented. “People are happy. It's like, 'I've never had an app like this before.'

The Tokyo- and San Francisco-based founder started working out of nowhere in the second half of last year with a widely distributed team of seven, full-time employees. Late last year, noplace launched in an invite-only beta stage and “accidentally went viral,” Zhong said, prompting the team to distribute invitation codes to early adopters, including K-pop fans.

The application is now ready to offer young Twitter users an alternative to the network now known as iX under Elon Musk, as it offers the same ability to send text-based feeds, but combines that with features to find friends and attractive customization options. in their human values.

The app is a free download for iOS and is available in learn-only mode on the web. The monetization plans have not gone ahead.

Noplace is backed by funding from investors including 776 (Alexis Ohanian), Forerunner Ventures, and others. According to data from Pitchbook, the company has raised $15 million in the Series A1 round, from a previous funding of $75 million, bringing its raising north of $19 million.