Geneva is the Future of Community Apps for GenZ
Substack Creators should try it out for their gated or public micro-niche communities.
Hey Guys,
I consider myself a decent trend spotter. I wrote about BeReal years before it went viral on the app stores. Actually multiple times, but who is counting.
Now I bring to you the Geneva app. Real adoption always starts with a very particular demographic, and it’s actually well known in app-marketing, the key demographic is: young women.
Young GenZ are flocking to Geneva.
Geneva is a group communication app designed for organized, ongoing conversations with all your favorite people. Join or create a "home" for your group and set up a mix of chat, forum, audio, video, and broadcast rooms for different topics.
Geneva or WhatsApp Communities are potential good places for Substack Creators to build real communities.
It’s as they say, more fun than Slack and more private than Facebook.
I don’t read clickbait Insider posts (Business Insider locked) but maybe you do.
So why does this matter? Creating community is the low-hanging fruit of Substack, though people migrate to Discord, Slack, Facebook Groups, even Telegram. But those choices are just wrong as we head into 2023.
I’m convinced we should be going to Geneva instead.
Audio rooms
A clean feel
Location and interest sensitive
GenZ is pretty open to new solutions for old problems. Think about it, GenZ are leaving Tinder and even Instagram. Now, in late 2022, from apps on the rise like BeReal and Somewhere Good to streaming platforms like Newness, the shift away from curated and performative social feeds and towards authentic, engaged online communities is becoming more and more evident.
If you haven’t experienced those apps no problem, it may just mean you aren’t GenZ or very mobile-native.
So my opinion of these four, Geneva has the most potential.
For Substack paid subscribers, this might be the best option today in as we near September, 2022.
Founded in 2019 out of New York City and set live in March 2020, Geneva is not unlike Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces, but seeks to serve as an “all in one communication app designed for organized, ongoing conversations,” the description reads.
SMS is too expensive and Substack’s app is is about Edutainment and Literature, not necessarily the art of an on-going conversations in tightly woven groups. To complicate matters, Substack has no basic understanding of GenZ preferences. Substack’s audience in both readers and Creators, is older. Think much older.
So what makes Geneva special?
Geneva is a GenZ Swiss Army Knife and the Spiritual Successor of WhatsApp
Read the highlights carefully on the iOS app. You will immediately understand why this is going to crush WhatsApp communities, Facebook Groups, in many ways Discord and other apps.
Geneva is all you ever wanted in a Community managing App or a Group Experience that’s so immersive it takes you to a safer reality of the internet.
Geneva asks users to set up a “home”. This acts as the landing page for users to create and navigate through “rooms” for different topics or sub-groups. Rooms can be open or secret and can be set up specifically for audio, video, broadcast conversations or chat, with @ mentions, threaded replies, emoji reactions, attachments, polls and pins.
Guys, I kid you not. If you know a thing or two about app design, try and wrap your head around why GenZ women are flocking to this place. Can you guess why?
The app is going to kill it with real-life events integration, among other things. The app also features Post rooms, intended for more forum like and longer-form discussion, organized differently than chat rooms and allowing for upvoting and commenting. Additionally, users have the option to send DMs and set up centralized event calendars, in order to invite, gather RSVPs and get reminders.
Geneva’s ethics and product are miles beyond what Substack’s app is now capable. From a trust and safety standpoint, it’s really top notch as well has having many innovative features.
From “Gates”, that control access to your Geneva home, including built-in questionnaires to help decide if new members are a good fit before they’re admitted, to sharing “House Keys” with your most trusted members— allowing them to control who can and can’t do things like invite new members, create rooms and moderate messages.
Why Substack Creators Should Use Geneva as their Home base for Community Management
While Substack have community “discussion” threads and now in-app as well, it’s not sufficient. It’s the best thing I’ve seen for GenZ since Snap, it’s that good on a product level.
Some have tried to describe Geneva that is like Reddit, Twitter and Instagram all rolled into one?
That it facilities and implements audio rooms this well is stunning. For peer groups alone this would be amazing and have real synergy with Snap.
So fast forward to 2022, the Tl;dr is:
Geneva, a group chat app launched in 2021, has become popular with Gen Z women.
The app is used by creators and brands to build personal and personal online communities.
Geneva has raised $22 million in funding from VCs such as Coatue, Base Partners and Inspired Capital.
I have a knack for spotting startups that will scale in both apps and in the Creator Economy, and Geneva is it. It’s the gold standard. It’s also interesting because it’s rather early stage.
GenZ Women are the Queen Users of Apps
Since WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook, nobody really trusts it any longer. Signal is fine for what it is, but the internet is badly lacking a GenZ iteration of group chat with audio immersion and everything else you need. Facebook Messenger and Groups is done, it’s gone.
Slack was acquired by Salesforce and is annoying and Discord is pretty toxic unless you are a gamer and use it for your guild (which once upon a time actually made sense). A GenZ woman understands what minimalism, utility and good aesthetics are and Geneva is all those things.
The human-design, security and safety I think have a solid foundation here with Geneva. The Branding is sleek and inclusive.
If you are a Substack, YouTube or TikTok Creators Geneva is literally possibly one of the the best answers today for a group hang-out app. In recent months, influencers who have built their following on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Twitter have set up homes in Geneva that are similar to workspaces on Slack or servers on Discord, says Geneva community head Kim Johnson.
This all has a certain ring to it since there’s the key audio layer involved.
So there you have it: my number one pick after a lot of research. Forget WhatsApp communities, Facebook Groups, Discords, Slack channels and other cumbersome and annoying apps. For community immersion this is literally all you need.
Here are a few of the highlights:
HOMES & ROOMS
Set up "homes" for your groups, then create "rooms" inside them for different topics or sub-groups. Rooms can be open or secret, and because everyone can adjust their notification settings for each one, people can tune into the conversations they care about and tune out the rest. There are 5 different kinds of rooms you can use...
CHAT ROOMS
Full-featured chat rooms with @ mentions, threaded replies, emoji reactions, GIFs, attachments, polls, events, pins, typing indicators, and more...
FORUM ROOMS
These post-style rooms are more organized than chat rooms, making them great for announcements and deeper discussion. Create long-form posts with rich formatting, comment and react, and sort and filter the room by most recent, most popular, and more...
AUDIO ROOMS
If you'd rather talk than type and read, you can create an audio room in your home and jump in with a tap whenever the mood strikes. Think of it like a big group phone call, but way easier.
VIDEO ROOMS
Hop in a video room and hang out with up to 16 people at once. With screensharing built in, these are great for small events and more casual get-togethers.
BROADCAST ROOMS
Go live on video with up to 9 people on stage and thousands of viewers to call on-air. Use these for things like chapter meetings, casual panels, DIY tutorials, live-reacts, and more...
DMs
Because sometimes you just want to start a private side convo.
EVENTS CALENDAR
With event invites and a centralized calendar, it's easy to share info, gather RSVPs, and get reminders to hop on. Events can take place right in your Geneva home, IRL, or anywhere else online.
GATES
Use gates to control access to your Geneva home. Our built-in new member questionnaire helps you gather info about potential members and decide if they're a good fit — no need to use a separate survey tool. Age, nickname, entry fee, and more gates coming soon.
ROLES & PERMISSIONS
Set up roles to control who can and can't do things like invite other people, create rooms, moderate messages, and more...
NO ADS & NO SELLING YOUR DATA
Ever. Instead, we're building a bunch of exciting features that'll make it really easy for people on Geneva to transact with one another, and when that happens, we'll keep 5% (more info on this coming soon).
ACTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
Because everyone signs up with a phone number, not an email address, blocks and bans are easier to enforce so there’s less room for trolling and abuse (but don't worry, we won't share or display your phone number anywhere). We also give you the ability to set your home's rules and tools to help you enforce them.
DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE
Geneva is great for all kinds of social groups: friends & families, school clubs, sports teams, movements, fraternities and sororities, creators & fans, coaches & students, professional networks, brand communities, interest groups, and more...
Audio rooms
Video rooms
Forums, pins, upvoting - literally the best of Reddit, Slack and Facebook Groups
I cannot believe they have only raised $24 million and have a product this slick. It’s a testament to some talent at this company.
I’m calling it, smart Substack Creators should onboard to Geneva.
If Clubhouse and Reddit had a baby that was safe, based on human design and inclusion, it would be Geneva.
It’s super early days for Geneva, but the suite of features could complement Substack Creators and the Newsletter focus of Substack’s writers, podcasters and community builders.
But Discord is no longer an acceptable solution to community management. Churn is too high and adoption is too low on less than integrated solutions.
Today on August 28th, Geneva is ranked a humble #172 in Social networking on iOS. I promise you, this one is for keeps.
Try it out and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!
Your commentary does a great job of showing how much and why “Gen Z” loves this product. However, if I were to take a gander that’s not the demographic of most Substack writers or the audience they are trying to cultivate. Which is where the disconnect would be.
Would have done better emphasizing how the app facilitates discussions and feedback within various niche groups more so than an age-grouping that doesn’t speak to the users’ particular interests or needs.