The Japan WebX 2024 may have come to a close, but looking back on the unforgettable moments of this grand event, the spectacular performances by the idols under MEET48 at the official opening party "Fantasy Bullish Night" have been widely praised.

In the minds of many, Web3 is a space filled with cryptic terms, and the current situation of more infrastructure and fewer applications has deepened everyone's perception of Web3 as an elusive concept. Therefore, in this current cycle, users are beginning to shift their focus from infrastructure to "embracing attention," and consumer-level applications are receiving much attention. MEET48 is an entity that aligns with this trend.

At the official opening party of WebX, several idols who won in the MEET48 GIPR2 on-chain voting event took the stage, bringing the audience a visual and auditory feast that integrates Web3 technology with entertainment elements. While enjoying the music and dance, we witnessed MEET48's innovation in the online and offline interaction mode between idols and fans, as well as the effectiveness of building a fan-led decentralized idol development and fan economy entertainment ecosystem through Web3.

Following the lead of the performances, approaching the MEET48 booth revealed a grand social metaverse vision that includes a product matrix containing NFTs, games, AI UGC content generation, and more. With products such as the TON support game "CoinIdols" and the AI tool for generating idol model scenes "AIShowBox," MEET48 truly showcases the potential and possibilities of Web3 technology in the entertainment field, driving the widespread adoption of Web3 and leading the public into a new digital era.

How does Web3 empower the fan economy? How does AIGC lead the entertainment content trends of Generation Z? What is the ultimate mission of MEET48's metaverse?

With these curiosities in mind, we had an in-depth conversation with MEET48 COO Kai Xu. Regarding the upcoming lineup of various games, Kai could hardly contain his excitement:

"User participation is the key to retention, and the threshold for content creation determines the core of user participation in UGC creation. Our AI SaaS tool allows everyone to easily and inexpensively create their own virtual performances through AIShowBox, and they can be published on various social platforms. Users can also participate in voting activities on the MEET48 platform to win rewards and greater profits."

Regarding the ultimate form of the metaverse that MEET48 aims to build, Kai further described:

"It is all-encompassing, a community that is interconnected with the real world and operates and lives in parallel. In the future, it can further connect with offline real-life and industries, attracting people from different groups."

In this issue, let's follow Kai's sharing to delve into the past, present, and future of MEET48's metaverse.

Idol Storm Sweeps WebX, MEET48 Showcases Successful Demonstration of Web3 Fan Economy

TechFlow: It's a pleasure to have the opportunity to have an in-depth conversation with you. First, could you please introduce yourself (you can share some past educational experiences, industry/entrepreneurial experiences related to the field, and the serendipity of joining MEET48)?

Kai:

Hi everyone, I'm Kai from the MEET48 team, and I'm honored to have this conversation with TechFlow and everyone. Our MEET48 team is diverse, consisting of both traditional entertainment industry OGs and a group of young people with a consensus on Web3. We have very rich qualifications and experience in artist management, large-scale performances, fan operations, game development, and film and television production.

I have been working in the media industry for almost 20 years, starting out in television and film companies. Now, I am developing and operating MEET48 with our outstanding team, hoping that our collaborative efforts can create groundbreaking product experiences.

TechFlow: If you could only use one sentence to help everyone quickly understand MEET48, how would you express it?

Kai:

A fan-led and created star-making entertainment ecosystem. Decentralized idol development and fan economy entertainment ecosystem.

TechFlow: At the just-concluded WebX opening party, the female members of MEET48 brought a wonderful performance, and the fans who came from all over the world further heightened the lively atmosphere at the scene. This kind of enthusiastic response undoubtedly demonstrates the successful operation of the fan economy under the Web3 model. Behind this success, could you please share what empowerment you think Web3 has brought to the healthy and sustainable development of the fan economy? As a pioneer in deepening the integration of the fan economy and Web3, what advantages do you think MEET48 possesses that have led to its current remarkable achievements?

Kai:

MEET48 is built on top of a certified and very successful Web2 model with a Web3 experience. We use new gameplay and new technology of Web3 to break the original limitations, making user star-making more transparent, democratic, and easier to participate in.

In the traditional idol development process, idol management companies redistribute resources through fan economy income, and fans have no say and profit distribution other than voting. However, through the gameplay of Web3, we can integrate fans into the entire operation system, give them more voice, and more effectively feedback the value created by the development system to idols and fans, providing them with a better experience.

TechFlow: We understand that during the WebX event, including the TOKEN2049 in September, MEET48 will conduct a series of activities to further establish a closer connection between fans and idols through offline activities, vividly showcasing the new face of idols under the AI + Web3 system. Could you share more specific arrangements about the activities so that fans can participate more effectively?

Kai:

MEET48 will invite 7 members of SNH48 to participate in our offline event held in Singapore. At the same time, we will gradually expand our MEET48 idol development system in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Taiwan and Hong Kong, making full use of AI to lower the threshold for user participation and using token mechanisms to incentivize more people who want to become idols to realize their dreams.

From TON to AI UGC: Deep Integration of GameFi and FansFi

TechFlow: According to the information released on social media, MEET48 currently has several products and games in the testing phase, including AIShowBox, CoinFish, CoinIdols, and will meet everyone in the third/fourth quarter of 2024. Could you first introduce the positioning and latest developments of each product in the MEET48 metaverse ecosystem?

Kai:

AIShowBox is a set of AI SaaS tools that can help users easily create their own virtual idol image and UGC virtual performance creation, and even create collective virtual idol performances with multiple users.

As we all know, the threshold for content creation is the core of user participation in UGC creation. The success of TikTok is due to its lowering of the threshold for users to shoot and create short video content. Everyone can participate and become a KOL. However, for virtual idols, the technical requirements and cost consumption involved in model building, music, and dance performances are very high, and ordinary users cannot complete them individually. Our AI SaaS tool will completely break and subvert this tradition. Everyone can easily and inexpensively create their own virtual performances through AIShowBox, and can publish them on various social platforms. They can also participate in voting activities on the MEET48 platform to win rewards and greater profits.

I'm very excited about this. The product is currently in the testing phase, and I believe it will soon be available to the public. Let's wait and see!

CoinIdols is an H5 game product operating in the TON ecosystem, combining idol culture support, call, and airdrop gameplay. Through this product, we hope to expose more users to and understand MEET48's idol culture and convert them into users of the entire ecosystem.

TechFlow: Besides looking forward to the launch of the product, we can also clearly perceive that games occupy an important position in the metaverse built by MEET48 for idols and fans. What is the consideration behind this? How can games better bring fans and idols closer and create a more friendly interaction?

Kai:

We have proposed the concept of AIGC for user attributes, which stands for Animation, Idol, Game, Comic. Users who like anime, games, and idol culture fans are a common group, and conversion between them is easy, especially for virtual idols. Therefore, METT48 will not only attract and convert these users through games but also through animation and comics. This is a very large user pool that is enough to support the grand vision we expect.

TechFlow: CoinIdols, which is about to be launched, belongs to the TON ecosystem. This has aroused more curiosity among community members about this choice. With so many public chain ecosystems, why did MEET48 choose TON? How will TON help in the construction of MEET48's metaverse?

Kai:

TON lowers the threshold for developers, allowing more teams with ideas to participate in the TON ecosystem. MEET48 itself is also open, and we hope that idol entertainment can become a part of TON. Additionally, more developers can join our product ecosystem. TON has many possibilities worth exploring, and combined with its user base, it is likely to become one of the important reasons for Web3 to break into the mainstream.

TechFlow: In the past few months, we have witnessed the gradual development of the TON ecosystem, with popular games such as Hamster Kombat and Catizen. In this competitive landscape, what is the unique charm of the upcoming series of game products from MEET48?

Kai:

Currently, the popular products in the TON ecosystem are mainly resonating and obtaining airdrop rewards through MEME culture attributes, and the participation method is relatively simple. This is what I mentioned earlier: lowering the user entry threshold can attract a large number of participants.

However, TON currently lacks a way to follow up with users and update the experience. The series of game products that MEET48 is about to launch not only closely align with our ongoing idol culture fan economy in terms of cultural attributes but also directly link to our metaverse ecosystem in terms of gameplay and post-experience upgrades. This will create greater expectations and future guarantees for users.

TechFlow: Economic model design is the core of any ecosystem's healthy operation. Around the TON ecosystem series of products, MEET48 has launched the innovative gameplay of MEME2.0 ecological airdrops. Could you please specifically explain where the innovative aspects of MEME2.0 airdrops lie? How does MEME2.0 airdrops effectively incentivize the ecosystem?

Kai:

Our thinking about Web3 has always been about breaking barriers and continuity, whether it's traditional entertainment culture or the TON ecosystem.

Due to the current characteristics of the TON ecosystem, it cannot support the entire metaverse product. However, lightweight bots on TON can easily reach a large number of users on Telegram, convey our cultural information, and attract their attention through airdrops. However, this step alone is not enough. We have designed a gameplay that is common from prop assets to incentive tokens, allowing users to bring the assets and tokens obtained on TON to the broader and more content-rich MEET48 platform, and achieve further value enhancement.

TechFlow: Additionally, we can see that another heavyweight product, AIShowBox, deeply integrates AI gameplay, allowing users not only to experience the ecosystem but also to immerse themselves in creating the ecosystem. This brings a stronger sense of ecological identity, participation, and user stickiness. Many community members believe that this is one of MEET48's core advantages that sets it apart from other ecosystems. How do you view this viewpoint?

Kai:

AIUGC is a major trend, handing over content creation to users and incentivizing them to create content. We believe the results will be very good.

Through PARO LLM, we will first create virtual idols with IP joint names, but we hope that users will create their own virtual idols and partners. Through activities and operations, we will make virtual idol creation and development richer and more fulfilling. This was not possible before, but in the coming years, through the continuous improvement of large models and AI agents, we can bring unexpected experiences to everyone.

TechFlow: It is known that high thresholds and lack of user experience are important reasons hindering the development of Web3. In a series of events held by MEET48, we often see participation numbers reaching tens of thousands and on-chain interactions exceeding millions. From the perspective of technical support and product design, how does MEET48 achieve significantly lower user entry thresholds and improve user participation experience, helping users seamlessly participate in Web3 and introducing a large number of incremental users to Web3?

Kai:

Fan users are a unique group. They gather through consensus and are willing to continue to invest in it. Idol development and idol chasing itself is a high-threshold activity, combined with the division of online and offline and community, fans' investment in time and money far exceeds that of ordinary users.

For these users, Web3 is not a high threshold. What we need to do is to help them transition to Web3 more easily and seamlessly and provide them with a better experience and value feedback.

TechFlow: For ordinary users who have not yet joined MEET48, what is the appeal of participating in MEET48? How can they more efficiently participate in the MEET48 ecosystem at present?

Kai:

We will soon have an upgrade in the user experience, allowing more people to realize their idol dreams within MEET48 through a new idol selection task system. At the same time, it will allow fan users to accompany these idols in their growth and share the benefits brought by their value enhancement during the participation process.

Multiple Milestones Achieved, MEET48's Metaverse Takes Shape

TechFlow: Many of the previous questions were based on the specific implementation paths within the MEET48 metaverse, based on the grand vision of MEET48's metaverse. Now, let's switch our focus from the micro to the macro. Could you please share, in your design and vision, what the future form of the MEET48 metaverse will be like?

Kai:

The idol and fan community is just the vertical track and initial goal for MEET48 to enter the metaverse. The metaverse is a vast concept and a grand vision, a community that people will build in the future, running parallel to and interconnected with the real world, just like what was shown in the movie "Ready Player One". However, this ecosystem needs the logic of existing natives and users willing to stay, otherwise, it will be an empty utopia.

The channel we found is through the stickiness between idols and fans, with idols leading fans into the metaverse and engaging in various interactions to form a social ecosystem and activity. Once this ecosystem stabilizes and grows to a certain stage, it can connect and introduce more metaverse content and forms, such as culture and tourism, e-commerce, and can be integrated with offline real-life and industries, attracting more diverse groups of people to enter, ultimately realizing the ideal parallel universe that encompasses everything.

TechFlow: In this current cycle, the slogan "Embrace the Attention Economy" is gaining momentum. How do you view the future development of this trend? In the eyes of many, the interaction between idols and fans is perhaps the most vivid manifestation of the attention economy. In the midst of this "attention economy" trend, what role do you think MEET48 will play in the mass adoption of Web3?

Kai:

Web3's infrastructure projects currently far exceed the current user demand. There is a need for more high-quality applications facing C-end users to generate a large amount of content for dissemination in order to continue to thrive and develop. Currently, the most popular application on Web3 is exchanges, and exchange users cannot generate content, which hinders the further circulation of users through content dissemination and guidance.

Entertainment is the most widely accepted and easily produced content dissemination field for the masses. We want to use entertainment to attract user attention and use Web3 technology to establish content and IP rights, and to achieve intelligent interest redistribution in the process of dissemination and transfer. This is what MEET48 aims to do, and we are confident that we will be the pioneer and leader in the mass adoption of Web3.

TechFlow: Finally, we welcome you to share MEET48's focus and milestones for the upcoming year 2024.

Kai:

In 2024, MEET48 made significant breakthroughs in the Web3 field, creating a new idol-fan interactive ecosystem through multidimensional innovation. Throughout the year, MEET48 hosted four iconic Web3 voting events: the fashion-themed GIFR, the summer-themed GISR, the largest-scale annual general voting GIPR, and the 4YA x MEET48 Web3 Thanksgiving event in collaboration with Binance's fourth anniversary. This series of events attracted over 300 idols, including SNH48, virtual idol Little Ghost NFT, amateur Dali, and the Hong Kong group RPG. The total number of votes exceeded 140 million, with over 33 million on-chain interactions and over 300,000 global participants, further strengthening MEET48's influence in the Web3 ecosystem, ranking first in the Social category on DAPPBAY.

MEET48 not only achieved success in Web3 technology but also provided fans with a richer experience through online and offline interactions. At international events such as the Edge Summit and WebX, MEET48's idols presented exciting performances to the audience, even performing alongside famous DJ Steve Aoki in Japan. Additionally, MEET48 hosted the "Back To The Streets" series of flash mob events in Hong Kong and Singapore, combining Web3 experiences with reality to create unique interactive opportunities for fans.

In terms of product innovation, MEET48 further enhanced the platform's technological capabilities and user experience. Through the OPBNB mainnet upgrade, the platform saw significant improvements in security and scalability. Additionally, MEET48 introduced the video creation mining feature, allowing fans to earn income by participating in content creation. The most notable addition is the NFT empowerment, where users holding specific NFTs can enjoy online privileges and even participate in exclusive offline meet-and-greet events, providing fans with a more immersive interactive experience.

MEET48 will become a platinum sponsor at the TOKEN2049 event in Singapore and will host a large-scale Web3 + AI party on the evening of September 18, featuring roadshows and fan meetings with the GIPR2 Top7 idols.

Through the deep integration of Web3 technology with the real world, MEET48 has created a new model of online and offline interaction. The performances at the Edge Summit and the "Back To The Streets" series of events not only allowed fans to get up close with idols but also expanded the application of Web3 technology in real-world scenarios. This large-scale innovation has driven the mass adoption of Web3 technology, making MEET48 not only successful in voting events but also a model of the integration of global idol economy and Web3.

In 2024, for MEET48, it is not only a year of innovation but also a key node in promoting the popularization of Web3 technology and achieving mass user adoption. Through AIUGC, NFT empowerment, and product innovation, MEET48 is leading the idol economy into a new era of Web3.

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