According to Statista revenue in Australia for the app segment is expected to grow to USD 40 million in 2021. Below are updates from the world of mobile apps that you should be aware of:
Goody raises USD 4 million
Mobile gifting app, Goody has raised USD 4 million. Unlike other gifting apps, Goody does not require gift receivers to download an app. Here’s how it works, you download and install the Goody app and select a gift for someone. All you need to enter is the person’s mobile number and they will receive an SMS with a link. The receiver can open the link and accept the gift. They can fill in the shipping address and make customizations like pick their size, preferred colour, etc. The app launched in mid-December last year and is the brainchild of entrepreneur Edward Lando who co-founded the company along with tech lead from Even.com, Mark Bao and former owner of gifting startup Karma, Lee Linden. Linden later sold his startup to Facebook.
Clubhouse hosts tech giants Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg
Clubhouse is an audio-chat based social networking platform that has been generating a lot of buzz this past year. The platform allows users to join groups and listen in on conversations. In the past the app has hosted notable names like Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Jared Leto among others. Clubhouse got a lot of attention recently for hosting arguably their biggest names yet: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. The tech moguls appeared on the platform separately. Zucerkerberg appeared on ‘The Good Time Show’, a talk show style group on the app, while Elon Musk started his own group. Clubhouse limits attendance in groups to 5000 users, a number that was quickly reached during this appearance. With more users unable to get in, many started live streaming the event on other channels like YouTube. Clubhouse is quickly becoming a mainstream platform and has moved past its early ‘app to watch’ status. Currently users can only join the platform though an invitation from an existing user, adding to the app’s exclusive appeal.
Parler CEO, John Matze Fired
John Matze the CEO of Parler, the controversial social media platform, said in a statement last week that he has been let go from his position. According to Matze his termination was a result of a disagreement between him and Rebekah Mercer who supports Parler financially. Mercer is a prominent republican political donor. Parler positions itself as a ‘free speech’ social media platform and does not censure what its users are allowed to post on the website. This made it a popular choice among Conservatives in the US. Last month both Google and Apple removed Parler from their respective app stores while Amazon Web Services stopped hosting the site. This was done after Parler was heavily criticised for not policing posts and content on their platform that incited violence, which is in violation of all three companies’ policies. According to Matze, he advised senior leadership at the company to consider censoring posts by white supremacists and QAnon conspiracy theorists. However, he did not receive any response. Ms. Mercer on the other hand is against any type of censorship on the platform. Matze believes this disagreement was the cause for his dismissal.
Stay up to date with stories like this by subscribing to our newsletter.