Kin Developer Program Q&A: Reveald
Geoff Ereth, a software developer, was chatting with friends about the trials and tribulations of modern dating. He noticed that most of today’s dating apps are so focused on rapid judgment that they make it hard to find a real connection. He spent some time thinking about how to create an app that could throttle that judgment in the dating sphere, and decided to enter the Kin Developer Program. A few months later, Geoff launched Reveald on Google Play and it quickly became one of the store’s top new dating apps in the U.S.
Reveald is one of 27 apps that have gone live through the Kin Developer Program. We sat down with Geoff to discuss how he got involved with Kin, and how he’s using it to encourage better experiences in online dating.
What is the main purpose of the Reveald app?
Reveald is a dating application that stands out because it doesn’t focus on the typical “hot or not” judgment approach you see in a lot of apps today. The functionality forces you to learn more about another’s personality before you can see what the other user looks like. As you scroll through somebody’s profile and read about who they are, their image is slowly revealed depending upon the scroll gesture, acceleration, and position of where you are in their content. That way, you’re forced to learn more about each other in an informal way before you can make a judgment.
What interested you in Kin?
I heard about the token distribution event last year and I’ve been following the project ever since. When I started my journey with Kin there were only 200 people in the subreddit, so it’s been fun to see the community grow. I’m more of a lurker in the community, but I’ve actively followed along with the project’s development, and when I saw the Kin Developer Program, I immediately thought about how it could support the app I’d been thinking about for a while, and how it could unblock some of the problems I could foresee in developing it.
What was it about Kin that unblocked development for the app?
For me, conversion was always a black box in developing an app like Reveald. For this app to work, users need to be willing to fill their profile board with engaging content — not just photos. To ask users to complete the funnel from downloading the app to actually completing a profile and then engaging with users, it’s asking a lot — I knew I’d be lucky to get even three to four percent conversion. There are plenty of apps that ask for a users’ information, and either require people to give it out for free, or give people the option to leave spaces blank, but I just didn’t see that working with Reveald, especially now as people are starting to open their eyes to the amount of data they give away for free.
I thought Kin was a great tool to incentivize conversions, and to reward users for the information they give out, which would essentially allow them to have a better experience in the app. Kin has given me a valuable way to reward users for completing that acquisition funnel, and that in itself is valuable for any developer.
Aside from incentivizing users to complete and publish their profiles, what are your other use cases for Kin, and how did you come up with them?
Kin provides a simple mechanism to reward users, not just for completing certain actions, but also for engagement. Right now, users can spend Kin to unlock the ability to have other users vote on their best photos, and those who cast votes can receive Kin for doing so. This feature lets users receive valuable feedback on their profiles, and rewards other users for lending a helping hand to their peers.
How do you think Kin can help improve the online dating experience?
Kin is a great tool to incentivize good behaviour and engagement. Other dating apps have proved that people are willing to share their basic information and images for free, but that doesn’t always create the best dating experience. Kin allows me to turn the tables on traditional online dating by incentivizing people to share more information with others (like interests or hobbies) in hopes that it will result in a stronger connection. I think Kin can also incentivize good behavior in any app, not just in the dating realm, by offering a reward mechanism for users who are willing to help clean up the platform (by reporting bad actors or spam, for example).
How have users responded to the Kin integration been?
The app is set up in a way that does not require users to activate the Kin Marketplace if they don’t want to, and I’ve seen that a lot of users opt to activate it and unlock the ability to have others vote for their best photo. It’s been really exciting to see that people are interested in experimenting with Kin in the app, and I’ve received a lot of good feedback so far. Right now, the audience is small enough that I’m still able to reply to any support emails, but active enough that I’m able to see issues or drop-off points and iterate on them quickly to improve conversions and app performance.
What other features are you working on? What can users expect to see in the next few months?
I’m working on a few new features that I hope to release over the coming months. I’d like to include age filters, security features, and identity verification tools which won’t be Kin-powered at first, but I may experiment with adding Kin to these at a later date. I am very focused on safety, so I’m also working on Kin-powered moderation features that will let users earn Kin for moderating content or reporting abusive users.
What has your Kin Developer Program experience been like so far?
It’s been great — the SDK was fairly easy to work with, and we had a dedicated team of people at Kin who were responsive and willing to help us deal with issues with the SDK or the documentation. I’ve also found that there’s a lot of camaraderie within the program, and other developers have been quick to jump in and help others if they have questions.
Why should other developers begin building with Kin?
Kin has the ability to add a lot of value for users of new, or even existing, applications. I would recommend that any developer start building with Kin, and would highly recommend participating in any future developer programs because the support from Kin and other developers in the program has been unparalleled.
We’ve received technical support throughout the entire process, and have had many chances to give valuable feedback to influence the future direction of the product, so that future developers can have the best possible experience developing with Kin. I also think the Developer Program provides a greenfield opportunity for developers — you can build just about anything and are given access to technical and promotional support and financial incentives that set you up for success.
