A new social app called Voiijer is aiming to bridge the gap between social media and the natural world. Designed for nature enthusiasts, the app allows users to connect with like-minded individuals, share their adventures, document their discoveries, and collaborate on expeditions.
Key Takeaway
Voiijer offers a unique social community for nature-lovers and explorers, allowing them to connect, share their adventures, and collaborate on expeditions. The app’s multimedia capabilities and storytelling features set it apart from other social apps, making it a valuable tool for data collection and experiential storytelling.
Discovering the wonders of nature
Voiijer offers a unique experience that combines elements of Instagram and Twitter. Users can browse through a feed of content shared by others who have explored the great outdoors. The content includes photos, videos, audio recordings, text notes, and even 3D scans for augmented reality viewing. Each observation is accompanied by additional data, providing accreditation and enhancing the user’s understanding of the content.
- Photos, videos, audio recordings, text notes, and 3D scans
- Additional data and accreditation
For instance, some popular feeds on the app feature journeys like “Can tech help discover dinosaurs?” which includes photos and videos from a fossil site, “Why is Iceland one of the best Mars analog environments?” which includes text explanations and multimedia documenting an Icelandic expedition, and “Can we find blue vipers in Komodo?” where a user explores Komodo National Park in search of the blue-hued snakes.
The vision behind Voiijer
Voiijer was conceived by CEO Michael Barth, inspired by his own experiences during an expedition in the Gobi Desert. Barth and his team made groundbreaking discoveries thanks to advanced technology and funding but struggled to share their findings with a wider audience. This led to the idea of using smartphones as a tool to create communities where users could engage in storytelling and share their data effectively.
The startup has raised nearly $1 million in angel funding from friends and family to bring the app to life. The co-founders of Voiijer include CPO Michelle Excel, who has a background in augmented reality, virtual reality, AI, and spatial technology, and CMO Greg McConnell, formerly of WPP & J. Walter Thompson, with experience in developing brand strategies and partnerships.
Browsing, collaborating, and storytelling
Voiijer allows users to browse content created by others and share their own observations. The app includes a search feature that enables users to find specific topics, observations, projects, and other users with similar interests. Users can also invite others to collaborate on projects, plan expeditions together, and upload data, content, and files in real-time.
The future of Voiijer
While Voiijer plans to monetize through ads and a subscription model for additional services, the app is currently ad-free during its public beta phase. The test version has been trialed by around 100 users, including experienced mountaineer Kenton Cool. Voiijer aims to officially launch on iOS on September 30th and plans to scale up to 10,000 users within three months.
Whether you’re an explorer or simply curious about the world, Voiijer allows you to browse captivating content and learn more about the fieldwork being done by its dedicated community of users.
