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Arkadia:​ ​ a Secret Society in a mobile app

Conceptual Overview. ​This idea has been vetted (with enthusiastic response) by top Silicon Valley app
designer ​Los Montoya​, and by ​Contently.com​ ex-CEO and co-founder J​oe Coleman​.

● I originally floated this idea on ​Twitter​ as a joke. I only have a small following, but I got a huge
response.

● Simply put, any social media platform’s main products are:

(a) ​entertainment​; and

(b) ​personal validation​.

Social media platforms profit from the time people spend on them: a market in attention.

We want to steal​ a little bit of that attention away from Twitter. On Twitter, unless you’re a celebrity or a
politician or the like, it’s hard to get ​personal validation​ in the form of likes, shares, retweets, followers,
etc. For most of Twitter’s 300 million-plus users, you’re just another ant in the anthill. It can be
depersonalizing. Depressing.

One of the main ways to find personal validation on Twitter is to amass followers, and to get those
followers, and others, to engage with your content.

Problem is​: much like printing money, the more followers you gain, the less each follower means to you
personally. And when you amass more followers than you can possibly engage with, to them you’re just
another self-promoter who gives nothing back. Twitter profits when people create free content for them in
the general scramble to get followers (and to get the personal validation that comes along with them).

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On Twitter I’ve discovered a ​longing for belonging​ - for a tribe; a home on the internet: where the
content is better, where you aren’t bombarded with unwanted messages; where you can interact with
like-minded users who share ideas of interest to you. Twitter users long for an online escape from these
crazy times.

Enter... ​ARKADIA!​ (working name).

I’ve got two words for you: ​Secret.​ ​Society​.

Hear me out!​ You join Twitter; Twitter is like “Congratulations. You have zero followers. Start following
these famous people while we sell your data to our advertisers.”

But with Arkadia, you feel personal validation ​the moment you join!​ Now you belong to a “secret” club.
This is fun. You’re special.

What club? A club for gamers. Also a club for creators: artists, SoundCloud-ers, techies, writers,
entrepreneurs. “Influencers,” if you will. Really interesting people, with really interesting stuff to share (not
just baby Yoda memes).

But there are rules!​ By placing certain limitations on the noobs (we’ll call them “Initiates”), new users will
be motivated to ​level up​, gaining greater privileges and better connections.

Ready player one...

Design Overview

Arkadia is a social media app that works like an MMORPG (think WOW). We combine gaming and social
media elements. We create a fun, secret-society vibe. Retro FF/Zelda look and gameplay are easier to
develop, and are a selling point. Nostalgia will appeal across all age demographics.

Objective.​ Steal a little bit of market share from Twitter. Create an imaginary, escapist world.

Why Arkadia?

● Less depersonalizing than Twitter​. Create a sense of belonging. Join a “guild” (we’ll call it a
“circle”). Less crap content; more stuff you want to read/click.

● Not as messy as Facebook​. No “friends” or “followers” you don’t want to engage with. Just circles
of users who share your interests.

● Less sterile/nerdy than Reddit​. Appeal to a wider audience. Better visuals. Make it fun.

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 ● More involved than Instagram​. Doesn’t push you to follow celebrity media junkies.

● No trolls/hate speech (Qanon). Not a cult (Nxivm). Not niche/elitist (Clubhouse).

Target Demographic

● Gamers​, particularly RPG

● Creators​: coders, designers, writers, academics, “thought leaders,” self-promoters.

● Twitter users who hate Facebook​: (There are millions of these!) Give them a sense of tribal
identity that Twitter doesn’t offer. There’s a huge desire for this on Twitter.

1. Main Screen:​ map of an imaginary land: ​the hidden country of Arkadia!​.

a. Totally retro look. Simplicity is a

selling point. Old-school RPG vibe.

b. Stretch and pinch the map. Zoom in

on the different “​Provinces​” and
“​Villages​” inside Arkadia:

c. Each Province has a general theme: gamer province, book province, music province, film province,
entrepreneur province, etc. New provinces, towns, and topics added continuously over time.

d. Zoom in farther to see villages inside provinces, and “circles” inside villages. These circles contain
individual user (“citizen”) avatars/accounts.

i. Limited number of citizens per circle (easily fits on screen).

ii. Each member has a profile pic or self-created avatar.

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 iii. No “feeds.”​ A bubble snapshots each member’s
most recent post (sort of like:)

iv. Subject to certain rules, members of a circle can

create their own ​subcircles​, much like Reddit subthreads, and they can belong
to ​multiple circles​ in multiple villages/provinces Here’s the general idea:

2. Leveling!!!​ People keep checking their Arkadia profile because they want to ​level up​. There are
different ways to level up, each granting citizens more privileges. As more people join Arkadia,
higher circles become groups of honest-to-goodness ​influencers​. Arkadia becomes a real place
to network and “grow your brand.”

3. Registration = “Initiation.”​ Higher circles are ​NOT​ open enrollment (ostensibly).

a. To become a citizen, all applicants must undergo an easy/fun “initiation rite.”

b. At first anybody gets in at the “Initiate” level, as Arkadia gets off the ground.

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c. The initiation rite has a cute secret-society vibe (it will look better than this, but, ​e.g.​:)

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4. Novices can upload a profile pic or create a
secret avatar, post their website or social
media URL, short bio, etc.

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5. Hierarchical Structure.

a. While Arkadia has no followers or followees,​“OG” circles​ (working name) and other
higher circles will have special privileges.

i. OGs and others can post to ​all of Arkadia​: to all members of a Province, to all
members of a Village, to any given circle, etc.

ii. OGs (probably using “secret” avatar profiles) will send occasional “missives” to all
of Arkadia:

1. “Mysterious” messages (​The oracle reveals that Athena Province will be

visited by the Sacred Crow totem;​ ​All coders in Pythagoras Province will
​ or whatever).
receive one free elevation—

i. Community updates

ii. Congratulations to someone who’s just leveled up

(motivating others to do the same).

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 iii. Citizen headlines (“Citizen Icarus just released a new
Android from app!” etc.)

2. Eventually, widely-seen missives will contain ​sponsored content​ (​See:​

Profitability).

3. Missives will “pop up” in the

right-hand side of the screens:

6. Limitations and leveling.​ Whereas Twitter, Facebook, and other apps permit users to post
content as often as they want—creating crap content and messy feeds—Arkadia will place ​time
limitations​ on posting (mostly for noobs). These restrictions will force Arkadia citizens to ​think
before they post​, improving the overall quality of content.

a. The main idea​: In Arkadia, you can post to citizens at your own level—or to citizens at
lower levels—​but you can’t post UP the chain!​ You have to level up before you can get
seen in higher circles, and get seen by more citizens.

b. At first, citizens will level up easily/quickly (like in any RPG). Over time, leveling becomes
both more challenging and more rewarding.

1. Noobs’ recent posts only create a popup in their own circle(s). A profile
bubble also indicates a new post.

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 2. When Initiates and Novices (lower circle) citizens
post, a timer will indicate when they can post again.

3. More leveled-up citizens can post more frequently,

putting a popup on the screens of their entire Village,
Province, or even all of Arkadia (​e.​ ​g.​ , citizens who
develop/invest in Arkadia).

4. DMs will always be permitted​, but only after citizens choose to connect
with each other (we’ll call it “linkage” or something.)

c. ​How do you level up​?

i. Invite others to join Arkadia, expanding a circle or creating a new subcircle.

ii. Get likes, comments, or shares from your posts.

iii. Free level-ups granted by OGs and others.

iv. Watch or click sponsored content.

v. Invest in Arkadia (later: maybe some sort of cryptocurrency? Arkadian guilders?)

vi. Etc.

d. Privileges for leveling up​:

i. Connect with Influencers in higher circles; market your personal brand.

ii. Share your work with more people (apps, games, SoundCloud tracks, books,
your company or craft, your website, etc.)

iii. Get more of Arkadia to see your popups.

iv. Get noticed by OGs, who might share your work with all of Arkadia.

v. Join more circles in more provinces.

vi. Become the leader of your own subcircle, with enhanced power and privileges.

e. Leveling up is just plain fun!​ This will appeal to gamers and non-gamers alike. Leveling
will provide both entertainment and personal validation, encouraging citizens to stay
engaged. Everybody likes the thrill of accomplishment!

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