Voiijer (pronounced ‘voyager’) is a new social media platform for people to experience, be inspired, and participate in the natural world. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Voiijer chief product officer Michelle Excell to learn more about the company.
Michelle Excell’s Background
As the chief product officer of Voiijer, Excell leads product design and development for the Voiijer platform. And Excell said:
“My career in digital production began in 2002 at a full-service design and development agency in Auckland, New Zealand. After several years working on the product side, I transitioned into advertising, where I specialized in digital and innovation. It was this that brought me from APAC to the USA in 2009. In 2016, I launched an innovation and immersive technology consultancy in San Francisco. Then I co-founded Voiijer in 2019. After 20 years abroad in Australia and the USA, we have just returned “home” to Aotearoa/New Zealand.”
“My focus since 2016 has been creative and immersive technology, which encompasses augmented and virtual reality, the spatial web, web3, AI, prototyping, and a healthy obsession with photogrammetry and volumetric production. This focus allowed me to consult, guest lecture, and speak worldwide – including a career highlight, being invited to run an AR workshop at TED Women. But my dream when I was young was to become something with -ologist at the end. And it was my career in technology that led me to work alongside some of the brightest -ologists on the planet.”
“I met Voiijer cofounder Michael Barth in 2018 when we worked on a VR experience that told the story of the science behind the award-winning expedition he led with the Explorers Club Hong Kong Chapter in the Mongolian Gobi Desert. It was after this that we realized the potential to reach and activate explorers and their stories en masse through a mobile platform available to everyone. And Voiijer as we know it was born.”
Core Products
What are Voiijer’s core products and features? Excell explained:
“Voiijer is a groundbreaking social media platform, elevating the power of exploration via user-generated content and storytelling to meaningfully unite people and the natural world. While the app is available to everyone it was vital to us that we design it to be truly useful to explorers and field scientists at its core. The tool they’ve been missing.”
“The app’s multimedia observation function is unique. It combines photo, video, and audio capture and supports 3D scans. Supporting multimedia data collection is key. Audio and 3D/AR scans transport people, and 3D specifically is great at relaying scale.”
“But Voiijer is not just for collection; it’s for storytelling. Where other social platforms offer a snapshot or a beautiful image, Voiijer allows you to share the full story. Voiij Stories are not posts; they are a series of observations and it is this that allows others to feel part of the journey, the process, the discovery. This format is also a natural fit for How-Tos.”
“Your stories aren’t confined to Voiijer alone. Users can share curated highlights and snippets on other platforms, enticing your audience to delve deeper and experience the full richness of your story on Voiijer.”
“Voiijer also has multi-user features for collaboration. You can invite others to contribute their observations to a shared Voiij, making it perfect for team expeditions, projects, and research work. You can collaborate in private mode or share your Voiij Stories with the community.”
Formation Of Voiijer
What inspired Voiijer, and how do users interact with and benefit from using the app? Excell shared:
“Over the past few decades, humans’ relationship with nature has been drastically declining across the world. These vanishing interactions are leading to a loss of care for nature, which has resounding implications for the well-being of the entire planet. Voiijer aims to reconnect people around the world with nature: Users post content, share stories, and amplify discoveries, making exploration accessible to all.”
“The genesis of the app was exploration. From Michael and the team in the Mongolian Gobi Desert in 2018, making groundbreaking discoveries, thousands of data points, and struggling to share their journey and findings with a wide audience. And from the real struggles we heard from hundreds of explorers and scientists about the manual collection, aggregation and ultimately distribution of their discoveries and journeys.”
“The benefits are many. For explorers, it is the field tool they’ve been missing and the storytelling platform to reach a global audience. Our current user groups are explorers, scientists and nature enthusiasts. They have been core to the design of the product, but you don’t have to identify as a professional explorer to use it. It is for anyone who follows their curiosity and seeks to find wonder in the natural world and the world around them in general.”
“It’s also complementary to platforms you use every day. Tell the full story on Voiijer, then share it on Instagram and TikTok. Current social media is good at many things, but it doesn’t offer the depth or persistence of Voiijer. We fill a real need, a gap, and we focus on what we know and do well.”
Evolution Of Voiijer’s Technology
How has Voiijer’s technology evolved since launching? Excell noted:
“Coming out of our beta we had a wealth of user data and feedback that fed into our pre-launch roadmap. Since launching, we’ve had a steady output of features updates. Sometimes the smallest things – a copy change on a button for example – can have a big impact on people’s experience.”
“We launched publicly only very recently, and we’ve made several releases since then: dynamic and shareable teaser videos for every Voiij, toggle between private and public Voiijs, a referral system, and plenty of backend optimization. Our roadmap is full of exciting updates like offline mode, Pro and Org accounts, and of course an Android app.”
Challenges Faced
Has Excell faced any specific bottlenecks in her sector of work recently? Excell acknowledged:
“On the contrary, recent market conditions have meant a flood of available talent. I’ve been grateful to work with some of the most experienced app developers I’ve ever met this year. I recognize this has been a difficult year for so many in the tech industry, but for start-ups, this has been the silver lining.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Excell cited:
“When we started our beta program early in the year, we were so privileged to have some of the world’s most exciting and active explorers, adventurers and scientists in the community. Then, our public launch mid-year was a lifetime achievement moment for us all. Being featured in TechCrunch and Forbes was certainly a highlight. And now we have so many exciting partnership opportunities and announcements coming up, such as with the Edges of Earth Expedition.”
Customer Success Stories
After asking Excell about customer success stories, she highlighted:
“We have seen some inspirational and incredible people join the app and we pinch ourselves most days as we see new Voiij Stories shared by the community.
- Meg Lowman, global pioneer in forest canopy ecology, shows us her journey to become the world’s most famous Arbornaut in How does a girl grow up and become a professional tree climber?
- Richard J. Bartlett creates regular Voiijs showing the community how to see astronomical phenomena that month, from planets to constellations, galaxies to meteor showers. Check out his latest: How can you see the planets in December 2023?
- Paul Niel, adventurer and mountaineer, makes use of Voiijer’s 3D feature and shares scans from an archeological site in Can 3D photogrammetry help to identify a WW2 plane wreck? that you can bring to life in augmented reality.
Total Addressable Market
What total addressable market (TAM) size is the company pursuing? Excell assessed:
“Millions of us dream of adventure, Voiijer brings us there. And the data backs it up. 75% of adults in the US consider themselves “nature enthusiasts” and prioritize spending time in nature. Two of the top six corporate Instagram account are focused on exploration (#2 Nat Geo: 257M & #6 NASA: 87M). 3.2 billion people worldwide follow wildlife accounts on social media.”
“Science and exploration have a storytelling problem and too much goes unseen, untold. Social media has an integrity and substance issue, it is not known for depth. Voiijer is perfectly poised to take advantage of these trends and gaps. We have a SAM in the hundreds of millions and can leverage a creator economy that is in excess of $100B since 2022. We will harness that to create a positive impact for our planet.”
“Voiijer recently unveiled its first ocean ambassador with the Edges of Earth scuba expedition, aimed to raise visibility of ocean conservation efforts: How does Voiijer identify who they name as ambassadors?”
“Voiijer selects its ambassadors based on a set of criteria, with the primary consideration being their ability to support Voiijer’s mission of connecting people with the natural world. Specifically, Voiijer evaluates potential ambassadors based on the following factors:
- Raise awareness of the natural world: Does the individual actively promote and raise awareness about the wonders and importance of the natural world
- Use the power of storytelling: Does Voiijer believe it can effectively collaborate with the individual to enhance their ability to share compelling stories and inspire others?
- Frontline natural world engagement: Is the individual actively involved in an active or upcoming expedition, providing Voiijer an opportunity to showcase expeditions from the front lines – showing the human side of exploration, opening people’s eyes to potential career paths, and how they can contribute.
- By considering these factors, Voiijer aims to identify individuals who can effectively represent its mission and inspire others to take action.”
“Edges of Earth partnership
Edges of Earth’s commitment to raising awareness about the natural world is evident in the captivating stories from their expedition, which have captivated audiences, making them an ideal partner for Voiijer.
Their expertise in impactful storytelling extends to producing compelling narratives that showcase the wonders and challenges facing our oceans, providing viewers with a profound understanding of the marine environment.
Furthermore, Edges of Earth’s deep engagement in frontline conservation efforts, working directly with scientists, researchers, and communities to protect our oceans, offers a unique opportunity to document and share the stories of those working tirelessly to conserve marine ecosystems.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Voiijer from its competition? Excell affirmed:
“Voiijer offers a new avenue for sharing your story with the world. Go beyond the limitations of other platforms, collaborate effortlessly, and captivate your audience with an immersive experience unlike any other.”
“Go beyond the snapshot: Unlike other platforms that limit you to single images or short clips, Voiijer empowers comprehensive storytelling. Share the full experience through photos, video, text, audio, and 3D capabilities. This combination of media is truly unique, and the audience can experience every important step, fostering deeper connections and understanding.”
“Collaboration made easy: Seamless collaboration tools allow users to work with friends and teammates, collectively gathering content and weaving narratives together. Co-creation puts the focus on the collective nature of exploration and discovery.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of Voiijer’s future company goals? Excell pointed out:
“The focus now is on being more useful to more people, more of the time, so our immediate priorities are Offline Mode and the Android App. And it wouldn’t be 2023 without a healthy list of AI-driven features we plan to implement, from more personalized content delivery to helpful tools for data analysis and story creation.”
“Also coming soon are Pro and Organizational Accounts with a lot more flexibility for data collection and integration and exploration brand partnerships.”
“We want Voiijer to be the gold standard for exploration. It will become multi-platform and be used by institutes and orgs in addition to explorers and citizens. We know Voiijer can spur on increased focus and stewardship of the natural world. Voiijer will become a catalyst for others to follow their curiosity, to see pathways into professional or lifelong relationships with STEAM.”
Additional Thoughts
Any other topics you would like to discuss? Excell concluded:
“Voiijer is for everyone who follows their curiosity and seeks to find wonder in the natural world and the world around them in general. Using Voiijer reawakened my curiosity and I want you to experience that too. And for those of you who are scientists and explorers, or subject-matter experts, I want to experience your journeys and discoveries!”
“We have some exciting announcements coming soon so make sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.”
