– Preparing ‘Open Link’ service that connects users with interests
– Expansion of non-purpose communication and fun elements to KakaoTalk profile, friend tab, chat tab, etc.
– Accelerate metaverse activation by building a ‘B2C2C’ ecosystem that can generate revenue between creators and users
– Creating a diverse metaverse environment from text to virtual reality through community collaboration such as Kakao Brain/Neptune
Kakao’s metaverse, ‘Kakao Universe’ has been unveiled.
Kakao CEO Nam Goong-hoon held an online press conference on the 7th (Tuesday) and revealed the direction and concept of Kakao’s metaverse. Kakao defined the metaverse’s direction as a ‘Kakao Universe’ in which various services of Kakao are connected based on interests.
To organize this, ▲ ‘Open Link’ that connects non-knowledge communication based on interests will be introduced, ▲ KakaoTalk’s non-purpose communication role will be expanded, and ▲ B2C2C ecosystem will be established between creators and users. In addition, based on collaboration between the Kakao communities, it plans to present a diverse metaverse environment that encompasses virtual reality beyond text, images, and videos.
◼ ︎ The first button of Kakao Metaverse, ‘Open Link’, a space that connects users with interests
Kakao is preparing the ‘Open Link’ service as the first button of the ‘Kakao Universe’. Open Link is a service where users with common interests such as hobbies, places, and people can gather to communicate and enjoy, and it is provided based on Kakao Talk open chat. By providing links to Open Links not only on Kakao services but also services operated by the Kakao community, it will provide a space for users of these services to communicate about common interests.
For example, users who are interested in food who visit Kakao Brunch run by a famous chef can share their interests in food by clicking the open link connected to the brunch, and create and enjoy events such as ‘restaurant tour’ and ‘cooking class’. can
In addition, foreigners who like Korean webtoons can visit the open link in Kakao Webtoon and talk about webtoon with domestic fans, and users who visit a specific place on Kakao Map can exchange the latest information about the place through the open link. have. It is also possible to share in real time the feelings and support of fans through the open links in Melon’s popular songs.
Kakao uses the Open Link service to expand beyond acquaintance-based communication to a communication space between non-acquaintances. It aims to launch in the first half of next year for domestic users, and plans to develop the service so that people around the world can communicate without time and space limitations by linking with various global services.
◼ ︎ Expansion of non-purpose communication and fun elements in KakaoTalk
Kakao plans to activate the Kakao Universe by adding non-purpose communication elements so that Kakao Talk users can find various things to enjoy and feel fun and leisure in Kakao Talk, in addition to the original purpose of the messenger, which is communication between acquaintances.
First, it makes a major change to the KakaoTalk profile area. In the second half of the year, Kakao plans to reorganize its profile to provide users with the ability to create their own characters, express themselves in a variety of ways, and grow their own pets. In addition, instead of writing down status messages in one direction, you can communicate with friends who have visited your profile through various communication functions such as emoticons, cheering messages, and gifts. In the long term, the direction of upgrading the multi-profile so that the multi-persona can be expressed through the profile is also being considered.
Kakao’s strategy is to expand KakaoTalk into a more relaxed and fun communication service by placing non-purpose elements throughout KakaoTalk, such as the Friends tab and the Chat tab, in addition to the profile.
◼ ︎ Build a B2C2C ecosystem to activate the Kakao Universe
To revitalize Kakao Universe, we will build a B2C2C ecosystem that supports economic activities among users.
We will strengthen the revenue model throughout the service so that users can not only create and share content, but also make economic activities possible with the content they create. Through this, the head of the open chat room will apply a subscription model to generate revenue for information provision, and creators who write brunch posts will also be able to earn revenue from content.
It also provides an ‘all-in-one content platform (CMS)’ for professional content producers such as single-person media and media startups. By using this, content in various formats can be produced conveniently, and business tools such as advertising/paid/sponsorship/commerce can be used to monetize.
When such a B2C2C ecosystem is formed, it is expected that a virtuous cycle will be created in which creators produce useful content to create super fans, and users can continuously receive interesting content discovered by creators.
◼ Expanding beyond text to virtual reality through collaboration with the Kakao community… Presenting various metaverse environments
Through collaboration with the Kakao community, Kakao plans to present various metaverse environments to users by expanding the text-oriented Kakao services beyond images and videos to virtual reality.
Based on super-giant AI models such as ‘KoGPT’ and ‘Karlo’, Kakao Brain is preparing two functions that will enrich the Kakao Universe.
‘Interactive AI’ utilizes ‘face retargeting’ that tracks facial movements in real time and ‘neural rendering’ that can realize a different self, so that anyone can easily create their own character and express multi-persona. help you to If you use this, 3D characters of various shapes are automatically created with a single photo to express multi-persona, and it is possible to communicate in a different way, such as role-playing with non-acquaintances in open chat or video call.
‘Conversational AI’ is a function that allows you to have a conversation like a friend based on virtual characters and contents. Using popular webtoons as data, create an AI with the character, values, tone, and nuances of the main character, and have conversations about webtoons. It’s a way to share The functions Kakao Brain is preparing will be applied to the Kakao service in the future.
In the case of ‘Neptune’, an affiliate of Kakao, it plans to introduce ‘Colorverse’ service, an open metaverse platform using 3D virtual space technology, together with ‘Colorverse (before change: Puppy Red)’, a metaverse developer that it invested in last year. Colorverse is a metaverse space where anyone can easily enter, enjoy, and create across mobile and online ecosystems.
Within the Color Bus, users gather with the same ‘interests’ and form a community by hanging out together. You can enjoy various digital contents such as webtoons and web novels you are interested in together with other users in Color Bus.
Users can also directly create and sell content in the Colorverse, such as items, avatars, and lands, through the marketplace. Users who have purchased content can reprocess and resell the content, and the market place system of Colorverse enables users to create unlimited creative desires, enabling active economic circulation within the Colorverse.
Kakao CEO Nam Goong-hoon said, “Kakao is not a single service or platform, but rather aims to support users to connect with each other and create meaningful relationships based on interests. If we can connect, we will be able to realize our vision of ‘Beyond Korea’ in the long term.”
