Since August 2020, the social network has been reporting 10m monthly traffic, as reported by Sarah Perez on TechCrunch. [Social 10M Maus AugustPerezTechCrunch]
Key Takes:
- IRL is now a social media network with 10 million users and is growing rapidly
- It received $16 million in Series B funding to add new features such as chat, group events, and profiles
- IRL has a new messenger built into its website, making it valuable for groups with scheduled activities
- IRL plans to add more local events, integrate TikTok content, and attract more influencers
The event discovery website is now scaling its functions and adding more features, now making it a social media network. As the website started registering more users, there needed to be improvements to facilitate all of them.
Last fall, IRL received $16 million in Series B funding, which will be used to launch a newer version of IRL with features including chat, group events, and profiles. As the website is now becoming a social media network, you’ll be able to connect with your friends across mobile and web platforms.
Since August, IRL has been growing at the rate of over 30% month over month. According to the IRL founder, over 1 billion messages have been sent over IRL.
Back in the days of Covid-19, a website such as IRL.com would easily be affected by the pandemic as no events were going on due to the lockdown. Instead, IRL converted to virtual events – the new website was live streaming esports events, parties, Zoom concerts, and whatnot. [Social 10M Maus AugustPerezTechCrunch]
Now, IRL.com has become a multi-functional social media network receiving millions of users every month. You can join various communities, host watch parties, and live in a virtual world. Big fish including Twitch, Spotify, HBO, TikTok, SoundCloud, and Apple TV+ events were being hosted on IRL. It is also said that all the aforementioned companies are now official partners with IRL.com.
In 2020, IRL also redesigned its mobile application to fit all the features so that there are no inconveniences across the platforms. As the application is based on social media features, you can now make friends online and see what they’re up to and what kind of events they are participating in.
The new IRL website now looks more like a mobile app. Users can choose their event interests and find friends. They can filter events by category and see weekend events or top picks. The site allows users to create events with friends using the new chat feature, which was previously only on a mobile.
A New Messenger on IRL
On IRL, there’s a new messenger built into the IRL website. “Because everybody’s at home, there’s a big demand for a web messenger,” said Abraham Shafi, CEO and founder of IRL.
IRL takes into account the needs and wants of the online community. For instance, Facebook groups are focused on discussion boards and posts, however, IRL is more focused on messaging and building a network around that.
“There’s no group chatting app that also allows you to add events…We’re seeing that become valuable for any groups that have upcoming and scheduled activities. It could be a TV show that you really like. Or it could be your friends playing Among Us or playing video games. You can imagine, literally, any type of group – like a book club that meets weekly and has weekly events coming up,” said the founder. [Social 10M Maus AugustPerezTechCrunch]
IRL for Students
If you’re a student and have a “.edu” account, you can log into the IRL platform and you’ll find all the on-campus activities that are exclusive to your school. Since these events are private, they won’t appear on the public feed on IRL.com.
IRL’s Future
IRL aims to add more local events and enhance partnerships. They are integrating TikTok content and plan to attract more influencers who want to curate unique events on the website, like the Sneakerheads account that tracks sneaker drops.
“We’re not going to take virtual away. Virtual will always be there …quite honestly, it will probably always be a hybrid… This pandemic has allowed us to focus on something that will actually help us grow once we can support both the real and the remote…
“Me and the team are very grateful that we’ve had the opportunity to build something deeply meaningful in these times — even though at the outset, it would have seemed like we were screwed,” the founder added. [Social 10M Maus AugustPerezTechCrunch]
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