Interviews

Empowering Women: The Evolution and Innovation of coto Social Platform

CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Mr. Tarun Katial, Founder & CEO, coto. 

 

  1. How have social media platforms evolved over the years?

What began as a simple tool to communicate and interact with friends, share pixelated images, or even exchange likes and shares, social media has come far from its roots today. It is not just a buzzword anymore, as it is constantly evolving and helping individuals and brands find a voice. However, what also cannot be ignored is the attention span of users on social media is fleeting and competition for engagement is on the edge. As creators often find themselves caught in the whirlwind of algorithm changes staying relevant and trendy feels like a tipping point. These constant shifts can make it feel like a guessing game, leaving creators wondering whether their content will ever truly reach their intended audience.

coto, is a social community platform for women, actively working towards this and understanding that every user is unique. Unlike other platforms that may offer a one-size-fits-all approach, coto lets users take the reins. Users select their interests and communities, and the algorithm does the rest. By understanding user’s preferences, interests, and engagement history, coto presents them with content that truly resonates. Hence users spend less time scrolling through irrelevant content and more time engaging with what matters most to them. Their journey through coto is as individual as they are, giving them the discoverability and authority they desire and deserve respectively. Soon there will be live commerce integration into the platform facilitating a unique monetisation ecosystem. The traditional social media do not give creators an opportunity to monetise and the amount of effort they put into creating content is a need left unmet. Whereas women creators on coto can monetize their expertise, fostering economic independence and creating a supportive community for women entrepreneurs. It will be a single marketplace to avail of paid consultations on topics like mental health, menstrual health, sexual health, astrology, food and nutrition including the user’s pregnancy journey, astro-science, coaching, and relationships through live streaming.

 

  1. What are the features of coto and how is it different from other social media platforms?

During the development of coto, we identified a unique opportunity to promote participative ownership. Our key focus was ensuring that all communities on the platform were collectively owned by women. By integrating Blockchain technology, we established a secure and trustless environment where smart contracts guarantee that women collaborating to build these communities are governed by a sustainable framework for the long term. Alongside our goal of establishing a secure environment for women, our mission extended to providing them with an equitable monetisation opportunity to derive value from their efforts and expertise.

The platform’s unique blend of community engagement and live commerce has positioned it as a leader in digital entrepreneurship for women, demonstrating the power of a community-driven, secure online space. Currently, social media platforms lack robust loyalty or referral programs. coto, however, incentivizes community creators with referral points and bonuses for every new member they bring to the platform. Any action you take to contribute to the platform’s growth is duly recognized and rewarded.

Let us have a look at some of the remarkable features of the platform are as follows:

  • Safety Check through gender verification – coto is a unique social media platform that utilizes facial recognition technology to identify users and their gender. This enhances the user experience and provides a safer environment for all users, especially women.
  • Live Commerce/ Monetisation for experts: coto has crafted a space that’s not just inclusive but actively supportive of enterprising women from wellness experts to financial advisors, educators to creative coaches. The platform has introduced live paid consultation services, thereby integrating live commerce to boost the economic empowerment and financial inclusion of women digitally. Hence coto is forging a safe and secure digital ecosystem where the power of community building transforms the professional journey of women by bringing them into entrepreneurship through consultations and providing them with financial independence.
  • Concept of channels in social media: coto offers an incredible opportunity to expand users’ network by allowing them to connect with like-minded individuals. Their contacts on coto are not just contacts anymore, but connections that can help them grow their community. This opens a whole new world of possibilities for networking and community building, making it easier for users to meet new people and build relationships that can help them achieve their goals. With coto, one can take their networking and community-building efforts to the next level, all while enjoying the benefits of a user-friendly platform.
  • coto communities – The platform encourages city-based communities where experts from various genres can come together to share their knowledge and skills with others. Other communities are seeing maximum conversations and impact and how they are touching users’ life
  • Language content across the world, including India -To cater to the needs of a diverse user base, coto offers content in multiple languages, including Tamil, Hindi, and others, making it accessible to a wider audience, including India.
  • Diversity & Inclusivity – coto celebrates diversity and encourages women from all walks of life to come together to form communities and connect. The platform supports and celebrates the unique perspectives, experiences, and voices of women from diverse backgrounds and communities.
  • Home-grown brands – coto is proud to highlight and support the efforts of women entrepreneurs and their home-made brands. The platform provides a marketplace for these brands, allowing them to reach a wider audience and grow their businesses.
  • Recognition NFTs – coto utilizes non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to recognize and reward users for their contributions to the community. These NFTs are unique and valuable, providing tangible evidence of a user’s impact and engagement on the platform.

 

  1. Tell us more about the recently launched AI-led Q&A feature on coto.

At coto, our goal is to actively empower women and with this thought, we have built features that enhance user experience and community engagement through innovative technologies. One of the most remarkable features is the introduction of an AI-powered Q&A feature, a groundbreaking initiative in the digital space for women. By harnessing Open AI technology, coto has unlocked new avenues in content creation, engagement, and learning for women creators.

The AI-powered Q&A feature seamlessly blends sophisticated technology with user-centric design. It introduces innovative tools like anonymous posting and responding, enabling users to engage freely without the constraints of identity, and a unique text edit mode that boosts creativity and personalization. The tagging expert’s functionality adds a new dimension to community interaction, facilitating easier access to topic-based experts.

More than just facilitating interaction, this feature cultivates a culture of curiosity and continuous learning. It encourages exploration, questioning, and growth through various mediums, including text, images, videos, and anime.

Since its launch, the AI-powered Q&A feature has shown significant success as user engagement on the platform has dramatically increased, bolstered by the integration of personalization, recommendation, and intuitive tools. The feature’s availability on both Android and iOS has expanded platform use, boosting visibility and engagement.

 

  1. How will the users on the app benefit from the live commerce offering on coto?

The new and upcoming live commerce feature will cater to a diverse group of women across the world. Women from all levels of society can access the platform and avail of professional consultancy services from subject matter experts across vital women-centric topics. They will get a single marketplace to avail of paid consultations on topics like mental health, menstrual health, sexual health, astrology, food, and nutrition including the user’s pregnancy journey, astro-science, coaching, and relationships. Customers will find their relevant consultants/ experts directly through recommendations based on their availability, experience, and ratings by searching on the platform directly. They can also have a best-in-class live streaming experience coupled with ease of navigating through the app with AI-based tools, recommendations, and discovery.

 

  1. What is the user engagement boost that coto is expecting with the launch of live commerce?

We are counting on the invaluable support of our global women’s community members and experts to ensure the success of integrating live commerce into our app. Building on the positive response we received from our communities regarding the recent Q&A feature, we’re optimistic that this addition will drive even greater engagement. By incorporating live commerce into our platform, we anticipate a significant increase in user interaction, strengthened community bonds, enhanced monetization opportunities, personalised experiences, economic empowerment, and financial inclusion of women across the globe. It will surely provide a new dimension to women’s digital entrepreneurship at a larger scale which will also narrow the gender gap in the technology world for women.

 

  1. What is coto’s future roadmap for the continued empowerment of women?

At coto, user feedback plays a crucial role in shaping the platform’s features and ensuring they cater to the needs of its community. coto maintains an ongoing research program to collect feedback from community members and community administrators. Armed with user feedback and data insights, coto embraces an iterative design and development process.

With technology being an integral part of our daily lives, coto’s mission transcends mere resonance with women—it seeks to empower them actively. This commitment is evident in our pioneering efforts to enhance user experience and community engagement through innovative technology like the newly launched AI-powered Q&A and the upcoming live commerce. coto’s facial recognition technology ensures the safety and security of its members, which is crucial for a community platform designed exclusively for women. The app will soon include more features within the digital services space to help experts grow. The platform is going to launch professional live consultation services around mental health, menstrual health, relationships/sexual health, and astrology, and these categories will only grow over the period. Through the initiative of live monetisation services, coto is revolutionizing the professional journey of aspiring as well as seasoned women entrepreneurs through a tech-enabled inclusive approach backed by the support of influential leaders and subject matter experts on the platform.