{Startup watch: Thinkly} A nontoxic troll free content platform for creators & consumers

This 2021 born micro content blogging platform is creating a nontoxic troll free platform for today’s content creators and content consumers.

It is no secret that consumers today are spoilt for choice and, at the same time, bombarded with info from all sides. In such a scenario, they are now demanding that the brand study their interests and they are shown content of their interest or the knowledge they are seeking.

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Customisation has become significant, because users and even content creators are headed to niche platforms where they get to read or watch content particular to their interest.

Thinkly is a micro content blogging platform for content creators to share their voices, opinions, thoughts and perspectives in a safe environment, where they can monetise their content.

Content apps like Thinkly are seeing an influx of users and content creators on their platform. The company has already brought on board 50 Nobel laureates on its platform. Some of the names include Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Laureate in economics and former Chief Economist, World Bank, Michael Spence, a Nobel Laureate in Economics and is a Senior Fellow at Hoover Institution.

The Tech Panda spoke to Vivek Saxena, CEO and Co-Founder of Thinkly, the vision behind the platform.

The purpose is to create a safe space for people to express their thoughts and eliminate hatred and toxicity which most social media platforms fail to do

“The platform at its basic level allows the discovery of a variety of content under-one-roof without going through the rigmarole of scrolls to find the content of your choice,” he says.

“The purpose is to create a safe space for people to express their thoughts and eliminate hatred and toxicity which most social media platforms fail to do,” he adds.

What They Do

Thinkly is a micro content blogging platform, where after creating an account, the user can choose the topics to share ideas or write ups. Targeting readers and writers, Thinkly has built a non toxic trolling free platform which is currently missing from an entire social media gamut.

The platform helps independent writers, thinkers, journalists, academia, business leaders and other content creators come together to help people discover, engage and learn from people having common interests.

The platform is an effort to bring in a space wherein one can open a dialogue and initiate meaningful conversations with like-minded people

“The content creation platform aims to ignite the thinker in you: one who wants to express their thoughts to an intellectual audience who is thirsty for a fresh and knowledgeable perspective. The platform is an effort to bring in a space wherein one can open a dialogue and initiate meaningful conversations with like-minded people. Thinkly, an indigenous offering from India, is leading the charge on Social media 2.0 as it eventually aims to help users monetize their content via subscriptions,” Saxena explains.

Features

Founded in 2021, Thinkly thrives on incorporating a system wherein the audiences or the “thinkers” can choose the content they want to see by using the 50+ different filters comprising various genres. ‘Thinklers’ are also given the option to customize the audience to target the right set of users for their content.

“On Thinkly, you can have your own publication/ channel where you can even collaborate with co-authors. You can share blogs (unlimited words), vlogs, and podcasts all under one roof in a troll-free and ad-free environment,” Saxena explains.

On Thinkly, you can have your own publication/ channel where you can even collaborate with co-authors. You can share blogs (unlimited words), vlogs, and podcasts all under one roof in a troll-free and ad-free environment

Thinkly has a unique in-app wallet that lets one monetize their content. The virtual currency is in the form of stars that lets the creator monetize their content. The platform is also building Livecast streams, infographics as a tool for creators and plans to have discussion forums for its Thinklers tribe.

Origin & Inspiration

The team, which is focused on building a Thinklers community, wanted to create a platform to evoke thoughts, opinions, and perspectives from different people.

“The whole thought behind Thinkly was about how we could use social media to actually do something meaningful. We wanted to address the whole trolling, fake news, and the quality of content that’s available on social media platforms,” says Saxena.

“Our whole idea germinated from the fact that if we get to rebuild social media today, ten years after the first versions of it came out, how do we put in design elements which will make it more constructive and productive rather than all the negativities associated with it. Our energies are very focused on trying to get people a safe place to connect,” he adds.

The team is particular about the quality of content that comes on the platform, which must be oriented in a certain direction. If not, they leave out the type of content that isn’t aligned to the principles of Thinkly.

Our whole idea germinated from the fact that if we get to rebuild social media today, ten years after the first versions of it came out, how do we put in design elements which will make it more constructive and productive rather than all the negativities associated with it. Our energies are very focused on trying to get people a safe place to connect

“We clearly wanted to be a place, where the world comes to think, where the wise and the curious meet. We have always believed that if you want to have good content, it means people will have to put in hard work, the people who put in hard work should get rewarded, which is why from the beginning we have been focused on getting in-app purchases,” he says.

The unique in-app wallet on Thinkly allows subscription-based monetization.

Also, the team didn’t want to interfere with the creators, their creations, and their fan base. So unlike Social 1.0 platforms where the focus is majorly on engagement, dopamine, and algorithms, which in turn sets a tone for the content coming in, they wanted to focus on creating meaningful content.

“That’s why we wanted to only focus on subscriptions for creators and their 1000-2000 followers. So today you will see that we have a no-troll, no ads, and in-app wallet, which is a subscription model,” he explains.

Growth Story

Thinkly has the voices of 50 Nobel laureates, 120 heads of state, and other global thought leaders sharing their perspectives on the platform. It has also well-known intellectuals like Shashi Tharoor and Gita Gopinath’s articles on its platform.

The platform has also tied up with various leading global publications and media houses to bring in content from the areas of business and entrepreneurship, which includes MIT Sloan Management Review, Fast Company, Quartz, and Inc.

“From a content supply point of view, we have been very fortunate to have the Nobel laureates, heads of state, world-class publications, like MIT Sloan Management Review, MIT Tech Review, Harvard Medical, Mayo Clinic, Inc, Fast Company, etc. and some great independent thinkers like Kaveree Bamzai, Gaurav Kalra, Nitish Mukherjee, Vineet Panchhi, on the platform,” says Saxena.

We clearly wanted to be a place, where the world comes to think, where the wise and the curious meet

In the area of health and wellness, it curates Harvard Medical Review, Mayo Clinic, and Psychology Today; in science and technology, MIT Technology Review and New Scientist, in pop culture, Variety and Bang Showbiz; and in geopolitics, Defence One, The Diplomat, Foreign Affairs, and Global Viewpoint Commentary. Users can also read curated articles from Free Press Journal covering editorial views, opinions, and analysis.

The platform has seen a 20% increase in the user base in the last few months. Their content supply-side efforts have given them a 30% lift in engagement rates.

“In the qualitative aspect, it’s been great, the feedback from the market has been brilliant. There are people writing back to us and telling us that they are really happy. The mission is very clearly set on getting great content because as we are in an early stage and our major focus is getting great Thinklers, collaborators and trying to get great content and thinkers on the platform and positives is our focus,” he says.

The Thinkly USP

The platform aims to be different from any other social media platform, which gives Saxena a unique perspective on competition.

“When we look at the competition for Thinkly there are two sides; on one side, people say that there is no direct competition, and on the other side you could say anyone who fights for an individual’s time, is actually our competitor,” he says.

When we look at the competition for Thinkly there are two sides; on one side, people say that there is no direct competition, and on the other side you could say anyone who fights for an individual’s time, is actually our competitor

“At a category, level to consider you could say that the kind of people who will come on Thinkly are the ones who would spend time on TED, the intelligent creators of Twitter – people who make some great content and consume. The people who create a great trend on Twitter are the ones probably on the category level, but there are no specifics,” he further adds.

Future Plans

Thinkly wants to be known for great content and building great content. To fulfil the same, they’re looking for some of the best magazines and are working with media houses and publications.

“Something very close to our hearts is independent voices – the independent creators. The world is full of thinkers who just haven’t found the time or the right place to pen their thoughts, and we want Thinkly to be a place where all of them can meet, be it founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, people from the corporate world, housewives, artists and thinkers from different backgrounds. We really want them to find the comfort of coming and sharing their Thinkly; that’s going to be the focus,” says Saxena.

The world is full of thinkers who just haven’t found the time or the right place to pen their thoughts, and we want Thinkly to be a place where all of them can meet, be it founders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, people from the corporate world, housewives, artists and thinkers from different backgrounds. We really want them to find the comfort of coming and sharing their Thinkly

They’re also trying to aggregate and get the best newsletters from around the world to help in aiding their distribution and also help people discover it on Thinkly.

“In fact, there are some amazing writers who have their own independent newsletters already out there. We want to aggregate some of the best newsletters and bring them on Thinkly,” he reveals.

They’re also planning for a Thinkly curated and exclusive. For example, last month, along with the release of the movie 83, they did an interview with Michael Holding, to get opinions from the other side.

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“We also definitely intend to go global, because we believe that the problem we are trying to solve about some great meaningful content and great conversation is honestly a world problem,” he says.

As stakeholders like brands, companies, users, and the Internet itself move towards Web3 and social 2.0, content creators and platforms like Thinkly are positioned in the sweet spot to lead this wave.