E-Pal
E-Pal, formerly known as E-Girl, is an American freelancing platform for video game teammates hiring service launched in 2020.[1] The platform allows users to apply to become an “E-Pal” – a merchant that receives payment in return for playing games with clients.[2] The platform is available as both a website and an APP free of charge on Android and iOS.[3] It is currently the largest teammate hiring platform in English-speaking countries with a user base of more than 360 thousand users.
History[edit]
EPAL, Inc. was founded by Brian Xiong and Norris Wang at the beginning of 2020 in hopes of connecting lonely gamers to semi-professional playmates, as they themselves realized it was difficult to find people to play games with.[4]
In March, 2020, the website egirl.gg was officially online.[4][5] The concept of renting “egirls” quickly attracted a large following to the site, and it became viral within the gaming community, particularly on social platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.[6]
Its registered users rose to 10,000 within the same month.[7]
A month after the previous milestone, E-Pal announced that its registered users broke 100,000 in April 2020.[8]
In the same month, egirl.gg was rebranded to EPal.gg in hopes of removing the negative stigma that came with the previous name. The community guideline and multimedia policy were also adjusted to reflect this change – all NSFW content was strictly prohibited and the users who failed to comply were removed.[9]
The iOS application was released in August.[10]
The Android application was released in September.[11]
Mobile Chatroom was released at the end of September.[12]
Meet was released at the end of October.[12]
E-Pal has announced their user count broke 300,000 people.[13]
Features[edit]
E-Pal hiring[edit]
The E-Pal hiring service is broken down into different games on the website. A client who is looking to hire an E-Pal will select a game to see all available E-Pals for that particular game. The E-Pals are displayed as a list, showcasing their profile picture, order history, order price and a voice recording.[14] After making their choices, the client could communicate with the E-Pal they are looking to hire through supporting features such as on-site messaging, voice calls to finalize the order. On-site refund is allowed, which could be done either through a mutual agreement or contacting customer service.[15]
To become an E-Pal, a user has to be at least 18 years old[2] and provide a series of evidence to show their competence in the game they are applying for. Players with exceptional skill could also apply to become a Coach, formally known as E-Pro, which grants them various perks and symbol.[16]
Meet[edit]
Meet allows users to find teammates for free through swiping left and right. The underlying algorithm uses tags people add as a way to identify potential matches. Due to the accessible nature of Meet, it is now the flagship function of E-Pal and the front page.
LFG and Voice-Chatroom[edit]
All users are allowed to set up a LFG (looking for group) room or a voice-chatroom. These rooms allow real-time group voice chats that could either be dedicated to a particular game such as Among Us, or general chatter. The rooms have built-in gifting options, allowing users to send each other gifts that have monetary values.
Criticisms and controversy[edit]
Business model – The concept of paying money to hire a “friend” to play video games has been a hot debate between many people. Some think it is a legitimate way for gamers to generate a bit of side income, while some think it is a dangerous line that blurs the line between friendship and professional relationship. Some have even pointed out the name “egirl” itself was intrinsically misogynistic, but many girls who use the site seem to have no problem with it.[4][17][18][19]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ Cage, Matthew. "E-girl site allows you to rent the time of a game companion". Somag News. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Become an E-Pal Now!".
- ↑ "The Official E-Pal App is Now Live!".
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 D'ANASTASIO, CECILIA. "A New Site Connects 'Egirls' With Gamers—for a Fee". Wired. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
- ↑ "E-Pal Community Topic - NEW GAME!". Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ↑ "Twitter @DisguisedToast". Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- ↑ "E-Pal Community Topic - A milestone is reached: 10,000 Users!". Retrieved 11 March 2020.
- ↑ "E-Pal Community Topic - 100,000 people already! Damn!". Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ↑ "E-Pal Community Topic - Egirl.gg is now Epal.gg!". Retrieved 21 April 2020.
- ↑ "E-Pal Community Topic - The Official Epal.gg App Is Now LIVE!". Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ↑ "E-Pal Android App Download".
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "E-Pal Web Log".
- ↑ "E-Pal Community Topic - We now have 300,000 people on the site!". Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ↑ "Epal Game - League of Legends".
- ↑ "E-Pal FAQ".
- ↑ "Become a Coach Now!".
- ↑ Admin, Podcast (26 June 2020). "The Rebels Breakdown Epal.gg - The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly". Temple of Geek. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ↑ Carrer, Laura; Lupetti, Matteo. "How to Make Money on E-Pal, According to E-Girls". www.vice.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ↑ Barrett, David (11 November 2020). "Hanging Out With The Epals: Checking Out epal.gg". Medium. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
External links[edit]
This article "E-Pal" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:E-Pal. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
