New Social Media Platform for Gen Z and Millennials Turns Fun Video Content
Into a Powerful Tool for Social Impact
Unique Features Include Roars, the Roar Score, Hero Causes,
the Roar Giving Wallet, and the Impact Dashboard
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Roar Social, the new platform that democratizes philanthropy by reimagining social media as a powerful engine for social impact, is now available exclusively in the Apple App Store.
Replacing the “Like” with the “Give,” Roar Social makes social impact fun, leveraging the viral content and engagement that users already love – and channeling it into a larger social purpose. Roar Social facilitates micro-donations as small as a penny to reputable nonprofits, allowing everyone to help change the world, one tap at a time. It’s social media for social good – while still embracing the fun. Everyone, from professional content creators to casual social media users, can harness their creative superpowers to make a difference.
“A handful of billionaires have engineered social media to consume an immense amount of our time, attention and creativity,” said Robert Weiss, CEO and Founder of Roar Social. “Currently, the value from all that activity accrues to one place – the shareholders and owners of Meta, Alphabet, TikTok and Twitter. At Roar Social, we’re here to say ‘no.’ Instead of that value only accruing to shareholders, it should also accrue to charities, to our communities – and to making the world a better place.”
Roar Social emerged from stealth mode in late June, raising $11 million in seed funding at a time when many startups have struggled to secure capital, and as legacy platforms face increasing scrutiny about their role and impact in our society.
Roar Social offers its users a series of innovative features designed to harness social media behavior and transform it into positive social good:
- The Roar Board: A fresh content discovery experience featuring an omni-directional gameboard with tiles spreading in every direction, giving users more varied choices than the traditional single-feed scroll. Users can navigate the Roar Board to discover new experiences and browse collections.
- Hero Causes: When users sign up, they choose one of many Hero Causes such as Climate Change, Mental Health or Animal Welfare, which form the basis of Roar Social’s communities. Each Hero Cause is connected to several trusted 501(c)(3) organizations with broad appeal.
- Posting with Purpose: Users post general-entertainment videos to raise money for their Hero Causes. The videos don’t need to be about the cause. They can be whatever the user normally posts on other platforms. When other users like the video, they micro-donate to that user’s Hero Cause (replacing the “Like” with the “Give”).
- The Roar Giving Wallet: Users can preload their Roar Giving Wallet with as little as $5, which they use to donate a penny or more at a time to posts that they like. Users donate by tapping “Penny the Pig,” who is prominently featured. All user donation transactions are handled separately by the Roar Social Foundation, an independent 501(c)(3). Roar Social keeps $0 of the donations from users.
- Roars and the Roar Score: Users post and engage to earn Roars, Roar Social’s in-app user score, which accumulate throughout the week to a user’s Roar Score and impact real-world matching donations from brand partners.
- Impact Dashboard: A special area where users can monitor their real-life impact across the platform – including their top-raising videos, their donations, and the Roars they have accumulated for their Hero Cause.
“By marrying purpose and fun, we are making Roar Social a broadly appealing platform that meets the cultural moment,” said Weiss, Roar Social’s CEO and Founder. “Our early community will get to use these features to engage, generate real-life impact, and help bring gamified giving to the entire world.”
Now that Roar Social is available in Apple’s App Store, select creators and users are being invited from the VIP Access List to immediately join the platform. Roar Social will cultivate a special early community that will help refine its Gamified Giving ecosystem. Interested users can join Roar Social’s early community by downloading the app from Apple’s App Store, or by signing up at roarsocial.com/VIP-access. Prior to being invited into the app, VIP Early Access members will get a taste of Roar Social’s gamified elements and encounter a wide variety of fun ways to move faster up the Access List.
Roar Social offers a distinctive user experience. Instead of organizing around the usual creators and followers, Roar Social users choose “Hero Cause” communities and join forces with “allies,” who use collaborative content formats to entertain and generate real-life impact. The entire platform is about creating, engaging, raising, and donating – shifting incentives away from passive entertainment and toward shared missions and a higher purpose.
The platform also provides a unique opportunity for brands and advertisers to highlight their corporate social responsibility efforts, using new and engaging formats that connect with Gen Z. And for nonprofits, Roar Social supercharges philanthropy by allowing them to reach beyond their typical donor base to a new generation of donors.
Roar Social’s $11 million in seed capital has allowed it to attract a world-class team, including product and engineering talent from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon and LinkedIn, who were drawn to the company’s mission to reinvent social media. The team’s collective innovation has resulted in the development of a wide variety of proprietary technologies that power Roar Social’s Gamified Giving experience.
In addition to attracting top talent, Roar Social has assembled an impressive Board of Advisors including Jeff Raikes (longtime CEO of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Mark Rockefeller (global philanthropist and entrepreneur), John A. Lack (co-founder of MTV), Emma Cookson (partner in The Brandtech Group), Richard Sarnoff (KKR Chairman of Media), Andrew Weinreich (founder of Six Degrees and considered the “father” of social networking, Heather Moosnick (former YouTube and Hulu executive), Barrett Garese (founding agent at UTA’s online division), Norma Rosenhain (Founder of CREATA), and Alex Godelman (technology/product thought leader).
Roar Social is inviting creators, influencers, and users to join the VIP Early Access list at RoarSocial.com/VIP-access.
To learn more and download photos, please visit RoarSocial.com.
View the Roar Social VIP Early Access sizzle video HERE.
About Roar Social
Roar Social is a groundbreaking platform that reimagines social media as a powerful engine for social impact. Founded in 2020 by visionary technology and media leaders, Roar Social replaces the “Like” with the “Give,” leveraging the viral content that users already love to democratize philanthropy, putting it in the hands of millions of users. Roar Social uses “Gamified Giving” to let everyone change the world, one tap at a time.
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SOURCE Roar Social