Dispo launches a test to gauge user interest in selling their photos as NFTs – ProWellTech

Dispo, the photo-sharing app that emulates single-use cameras, began rolling out a test yesterday that will track users’ interest in selling photos as NFTs. Some users now see a sale button on their photos and when they tap it they can log in to be notified when the ability to sell overhead photos is introduced.

CEO and co-founder Daniel Liss told ProWellTech that Dispo is still deciding on the integration of NFT sales into the app. Dispo does not yet know which blockchain it would use if it worked with an NFT marketplace or what sales losses Dispo would take.

“I think from the test you can safely say that the Dispo app will have a native experience,” said Liss. “There are a number of ways it could look like – there could be a native experience within Dispo, which then connects to another platform via an API, and they are in turn our partner, but for the community it would be for them Community look native Dispo app. “

Credit: Dispo

This marks a new direction for the social media app that aims to redefine the photo sharing experience by allowing users to see only the photos they took at 9 a.m. the next morning. From Dispo’s point of view, this gimmick helps users share more authentically because you take a photo and then you’re done – the app is not conducive to taking dozen of selfies and posting the “best” picture of yourself. But even though it didn’t hit the market until December 2019, Dispo has already faced both lively hype and devastating controversy.

Until about a year ago, the app was called David’s Disposables, named after co-founder and YouTuber David Dobrik. The app was downloaded over a million times in the first week after its release and reached number one on the App Store charts. In March 2021, the app dropped its waiting list and restarted with social networking features, but just weeks later, Insider reported sexual assault allegations against a member of Vlog Squad, Dobrik’s YouTube prank ensemble. In response, Spark Capital severed ties with the company, leading to Dobrik’s departure. Other investors like Seven Seven Six and Unshackled Ventures, who were involved in the company’s $ 20 million Series A round, announced that they would donate all profits from their investments in Dispo to organizations that work with sexual assault survivors.

Liss told ProWellTech in June, when the company confirmed its Serie A, that Dobrik’s role for the company as a marketing partner existed – Liss was CEO from the start. Given the controversy, Liss said the app focused on improving the product itself and taking a step back from advertising.

According to data from the app analysis company SensorTower, Dispo has reached an estimated 4.7 million installations worldwide since it was launched. Although the app had the most downloads in January 2020 when it was installed over 1 million times, the app’s next best month came in March 2021 when it removed its waiting list – that month, about 616,000 people downloaded Dispo. Between March and the end of August, the app was downloaded around 1.4 million times, an increase of 118% over the same period in 2020, the membership of the app was exclusive.

Credit: Dispo

Now, with the announcement that Dispo is tracking NFTs, Liss hopes his company will change not only the way people post photos, but the relationship between platforms and the content that users create.

“Why NFTs? The strongest memories of our lives have value. And they have economic value because we created them, and the social media past failed to see that, ”Liss told ProWellTech. “As a result, a creator with a large following can only be compensated by selling directly to a brand, rather than benefiting from the content itself.”

Adding NFT sales to the app offers Dispo a way to capitalize on a drop in user sales, but it’s questionable how adding NFT sales could affect the community-centric feel of Dispo.

“I think the curiosity and interest are enormous,” said Liss. “But these problems and questions are the reason why we need more data.”