Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Soul (app)

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep‎. A weak nomination, combined with strong sourcing found by Cunard, tips the scale into the retention side. Owen× ☎ 17:46, 22 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Soul (app)

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Sources are not suitable according to NCORP criteria; Forbes India only has a small sentence about the app. While China Daily only relies on comments from the Soul:

According to Soul, consumers who would like to buy virtual avatars mainly come from first- and second-tier cities. They accounted for more than 44 percent of the total users. Notably, the majority of such consumers are aged between 18 and 27.

Che from Soul said the creator economy would spur innovative business models and new monetization avenues, as users continue to invent and inject vitality.

"More importantly, it has become an important platform for users and creators to build an ecosystem, which furthermore will drive the diversity of the virtual platform and its sustainable development," Che said."Creating avatars helps creators to convert hobbies, personal expressions and creativity into profits and gives birth to new professions like that of avatar creator," said Che Bin, vice-president and product manager of Soul) Qab Bi Av (talk) 13:57, 8 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Software and China. Shellwood (talk) 14:08, 8 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Note: This discussion has been included in the deletion sorting lists for the following topics: Companies, ~~Software, and China~~. Skynxnex (talk) 14:09, 8 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per the significant coverage in multiple independent reliable sources.
1. Zhang, Shuang 张爽; Wen, Hao 文浩 (2021-05-30). Wang, Yuechuan 王岳川 (ed.). "Soul全梳理：灵魂社交生态延展打造Gen-Z沉浸式虚拟空间" [Soul Overview: Expanding the Soul Social Ecosystem to Create an Immersive Virtual Space for Gen-Z] (in Chinese). Tianfeng Securities [zh]. Archived from the original on 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2024-10-10 – via Futu.
  The analyst report notes: "Soul成立于2016年，以用户在平台上的弱关系(陌生人社交关系)沉淀和留存为样本，生成用户的社交画像和兴趣图谱，并为用户推荐相关内容或潜在匹配对象。叠加App上游戏化玩法的产品设计，是定位于属于新一代年轻人的虚拟社交网络。2021年3月，DAU达到910万。其中73.9%的DAU在1990年或之后出生。按投票权排序公司的前三大股东分别是Soulgate Holding Limited(实控人为创始人& CEO张璐)、Imagae Frame Investment(HK) Limited(腾讯)和Genesis Capital。"
  From Google Translate: "Founded in 2016, Soul uses the precipitation and retention of users' weak relationships (social relationships with strangers) on the platform as samples to generate users' social portraits and interest maps, and recommend relevant content or potential matches to users. The product design that superimposes the gamification gameplay on the App is positioned as a virtual social network belonging to the new generation of young people. In March 2021, DAU reached 9.1 million. 73.9% of DAU were born in 1990 or later. The company's top three shareholders in order of voting rights are Soulgate Holding Limited (the actual controller is founder & CEO Zhang Lu), Imagae Frame Investment (HK) Limited (Tencent) and Genesis Capital."
2. McMorrow, Ryan; Liu, Nian; Lockett, Hudson (2022-07-01). "Metaverse dating app popular with young people in China vies for HK listing". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  The article notes: "But the headwinds to a successful listing for Soul in Hong Kong are significant. ... Wang Qingrui, an independent internet industry analyst, said Soul had cancelled its US listing after rival social app Uki took aim at its business practices last year, alleging unfair competition in a lawsuit. The case arose from two Soul employees posting pornographic images on Uki’s platform, and then reported the company for violations, leading Chinese regulators to ban downloads of its app. Soul said the two employees acted “without our authorisation” and are no longer at the company. The two employees were found guilty. Wang expected Soul’s odds would be better this time. “Trying to list in this type of market, they must already be thoroughly prepared,” he said."
3. Shen, Timmy; Qian, Long (2021-05-12). Dummer, Joshua (ed.). "Chinese Online Dating App Soul Seeks to Raise $100 Million in U.S. IPO". Caixin. Archived from the original on 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  The article notes: "Soulgate launched its eponymous app in November 2016, matching users to like-minded individuals online via artificial intelligence after they take a personality test and list their interests. The app is especially designed to appeal to younger adults, with 73.9% of its average daily active users (DAUs) in March born in or after 1990. ... Tencent Holdings Ltd. holds 49.9% of Soulgate via a Hong Kong unit and has an aggregate voting power of 25.7%, while Soulgate founder Zhang Lu holds 32% of the company and 65% voting power, the prospectus showed."
4. "新股前瞻｜Soul转港上市：三年合计亏损逾17亿元，腾讯默默买单" [New Stock Outlook｜Soul's Hong Kong Listing: A Cumulative Loss of Over 1.7 Billion Yuan in Three Years, Tencent Quietly Foots the Bill] (in Chinese). Zhitong Caijing. 2022-07-05. Archived from the original on 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2024-10-10 – via Futu.
  The analyst report notes: "总结来看，背靠腾讯这样的“大佬资本”、营收迈入高增长通道、毛利率维持较高水平、Z世代是一片新“社交蓝海”...于关注Soul的投资者而言，这均是Soul身上不容忽视的投资亮点。不过，唯一遗憾的是，该公司目前仍未找到盈利最优解的表现，也正是促使其投资价值“打折”的主要原因。"
  From Google Translate: "In summary, with the backing of "big money" like Tencent, revenue has entered a high-growth channel, gross profit margins have remained at a high level, and Generation Z is a new "social blue ocean"... for investors who are paying attention to Soul , these are investment highlights of Soul that cannot be ignored. However, the only regret is that the company has not yet found the optimal solution for profitability, which is the main reason for the "discount" of its investment value."
5. "Soul App evolves in the direction of socializing upon hobbies to Avatar economy". The Standard. 2023-07-27. Archived from the original on 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  The article notes: "Zhang comes from a consultancy background. In 2016, as an internet newbie, she designed a prototype with PowerPoint and further set up a team of six people, which gave birth to Soul App, China’s popular gamified social platform featuring virtual identity and common hobbies. As of 2022, Soul attracted 29.4 million MAUs (monthly active users). Moreover, about 80 percent of users are Gen Z."
6. Law, Julienna (2023-11-27). "How Gen Z app Soul is tackling China's 'friendship recession'". Jing Daily. Archived from the original on 2024-10-10. Retrieved 2024-10-10.
  The article notes: "Soul is still in the early stages of monetization, but the timing for brands couldn’t be better, says Hazel Diliziya, a cultural and marketing consultant at Cherry Blossoms Intercultural Branding. ... Partnerships with Soul don’t look like ordinary banner ads. Rather, Soul helps brands create virtual scenarios to pique user interest and boost engagement. For example, during the Chengdu Motor Show in 2022, Chevrolet hosted a booth with Soul where attendees could design avatars based on Chevrolet’s IP and print them out for their physical admission cards. Soul also invited all its online users to create Chevrolet-themed avatars, which brought the automobile brand nearly 63 million impressions."
There is sufficient coverage in reliable sources to allow Soul to pass Wikipedia:Notability (organizations and companies)#Primary criteria, which requires "significant coverage in multiple reliable secondary sources that are independent of the subject".
Cunard (talk) 07:19, 10 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Relisted to generate a more thorough discussion and clearer consensus.
Please add new comments below this notice. Thanks, Owen× ☎ 18:23, 15 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Keep per sources identified by @Cunard. In particular, the Tianfeng Securities report, FT article, and Caixin article are WP:SIRS coverage. Jing Daily is a good article, significant and independent, but I don't know much about reliability of that site so I'd downrank it a bit.

Zhitong Caijing article is substantial bur described here as a reprint of a WeChat post. HK Standard article seems to be churnalism. Oblivy (talk) 02:31, 16 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.