Google’s Area 120 incubator has a new project: the fantastically named Fundo, a digital meet-and-greet service for creators, revealed today in a report fromVariety.
What is Fundo? Well, it’s not the name of an adorable, floppy-haired dog, although I can understand why that would be your first impression. No, Fundo is an online meet-and-greet service for creators that lets fans “meet your favorite creator from anywhere, using your phone or computer,” per the service’s FAQ.
The service is described as a sort of virtual photo booth, and it’s a pretty good analogy — like a meet-and-greet at a concert or event, fans pay a small fee to be able to wait on line together, and get to briefly talk to the celebrity in question while taking three pictures “with” them. The only difference is that instead of driving out to a mall or a convention to meet in person, it’s all done online through a video chat.
Fundo is still in the early testing stages, although Variety notes that some YouTubers, including Jessii Vee and KreekCraft, have already started using it to meet with fans. KreekCraft also tweeted out a video of what Fundo looks like in action, embedded below. Prices seem to be left up to the creator — Variety’s report notes some as low as $4, with others as high as $40.
It’s unclear whether Google is planning to develop Fundo (not to be confused with some kind of new variety of cheese-based snack food) into some sort of larger product, or if it’ll be integrated into the company’s other efforts to help YouTubers monetize their content online, like YouTube’s Super Chat and merchandise options. But with the popularity of content creators only growing, the fact that Fundo could allow fans to connect online while also helping creators make money seems like one worth exploring.