This extraordinary community with over 55k women strong was started in 2018, as Malini Agarwal’s Facebook experiment to spread empathy, positivity and kindness amongst 100 girlfriends. With each new member eager to learn, have fun, engage and support each other while affecting a real, positive impact on women’s lives everywhere, 2020 saw this group’s population bursting. Miss Malini Entertainment is now taking this positivity ethos one step further by launching ‘Girl Tribe by MissMalini’ – India’s first App to instil and offer ‘rewards for positive behaviour’ through its unique Positivity Points system.
Women who are looking for a safe and uplifting space to connect with other women join the Girl Tribe which is a ‘win-win community’ away from the trolling and negativity of conventional social media. Various women from a diverse range of ages, backgrounds, and experiences come together here to converse, share views, and offer expertise on any topic.
“The ‘Malini’s Girl Tribe’ Facebook group was originally created to give women a safe, troll-free, and harassment-free place to express themselves and support each other,” explains Malini Agarwal, Founder, MissMalini Entertainment & Girl Tribe. We found that the constant trolling, rampant sexual advances, and widespread negativity on traditional social media were preventing women from opening up and enjoying the true power and purpose of social media: to connect and share with like-minded people at a scale that is not otherwise humanly possible. With the onset of the compulsory stay-at-home lockdowns, finding these connections in a trusted environment has become all the more important.”
“While there are various helpful single-issue communities designed for women, we realized that this wasn’t enough. Sometimes you just want a place where you can openly and safely talk about whatever is on your mind, knowing that you will be heard and supported by new and familiar faces. There are so many things women care about, be it careers, relationships, travel, leisure, mental health, motherhood, friendship, etc that a diversity of views in one place makes for an even more lively and useful community, plus it gives you the opportunity to be exposed to new ways of thinking and jump into conversations you may never have thought you could talk about with perfect strangers. It is very comforting to know you are not alone, in fact at times like Girl Tribe offers you a space to be alone together.” she adds.
A toxic by-product- the antagonist to be the daily ‘beauty contest’ and ‘compare culture’ on social media, was found by Agarwal that destroys a woman’s fundamental spirit and confidence, causing well-documented mental health harm from “social media fatigue”.
Therefore, Girl Tribe empowers you with ‘Positivity Points’ every time you contribute to the community (eg: when you start a conversation or leave a comment on someone’s post), reinforcing a win for every little positive behaviour or kindness shown to another member on the App unlike other social media that makes you constantly chase Likes, Follows and public validation that other people give you and often leaves you anxious, unhappy, and incomplete. These points can then be redeemed for fun physical goods (eg: masks and T-shirts) in the app’s exclusive ‘Tribe Store’ and virtual (eg: stickers). To offer free classes, products, experiences and more, multiple brands have also affiliated with Girl Tribe. Malini mentions, “Positivity is literally our in-App currency. We also offer several exclusive virtual and physical events that you cannot find anywhere else like Zoom dates/Virtual Happy Hours with celebrities, masterclasses and sharing circles. All redeemable via the Positivity Tribe Store.”
In other words, with Girl Tribe the more you give, the more you get! And how much you give is always in your hands!
“With our App, we are building a platform that puts empathy and kindness first by providing a safe, secure and fun ecosystem for women to interact and affect real change via plausible ‘real-life’ digital friendships. We, the Girl Tribe community, are our own experts and support system. One day we’ll have women from every walk of life, area of expertise, and skill that we can start our own virtual Queendom!”, beams Malini, “one where every girl is welcome, and the only criteria for eligibility is kindness.”
A global sisterhood of positive, supporting and uplifting women is offered through the Girl Tribe App that is available on both Android and iOS stores. To showcase earned collections- Sticker gifting is a fun and engaging reminder of kindness, via notes members, give and receive, every member of the App can create her user profile, with a unique “Sticker Book” and “Ribbon Closet”. And as the members unlock certain activity milestones, they will also earn “Ribbons”.
In case Tribe Members choose sensitive topics, they can also upload photos and videos or post ‘anonymously’. With the spin on the concept of emojis, members can also show their support and acknowledge each other. Other than the standard emoticons, a unique reaction via custom-designed emojis that allow for a greater range of emotions which is named as “Vibes” (as voted on by the Facebook community itself).
Malini says, “In the Tribe people often share gratitude, or ask for love and prayers and find each other’s posts relatable. So, we have given them the option to share those feelings above and beyond a simple ‘like’ or ‘love’. They can also give gifts to other members on their posts and attach a memorable note if they are moved to do so, beyond just the typical Reaction or Comment option.
Highlights of the features are:
- Tribe Store: This is the store where virtual and physical goods can be taken by redeeming Positivity Points. This will not only enable members to buy for themselves but also “gift” items to each other. For example, to thank a member for her posts, comments, advice, etc. another member can spend points to gift.
- Business Spotlight: Here an eager community of friends and potential customers can be showcased in women’s businesses and offer services.
- Safe, helpful, real discussion platform (similar to its FB Group): for authentic peer-to-peer personal recommendations, questions, conversations and various forms of audio-visual and written content
- Positivity Points System: Encouraging positive engagement within the community, this is a unique rewards program. This is also for referrals of the app to other women. All of these points can be redeemed against masterclasses, gifts, exclusive experiences and merchandise!
- Fun Contests, Exclusive Member Events, Expert Masterclasses and Sharing Circles: Girl Tribe offers non-stop excitement, sharing MissMalini’s legendary lifestyle and entertainment DNA along with opportunities to win premium prizes, attend exclusive members events, and network with top celebrities & experts from various fields
The Girl Tribe App will also offer non-stop excitement through a variety of expert masterclasses, fun contests, original content, exclusive member events, celebrity interactions, and more. All the things that will put a smile on our member’s faces every day in a way that only MissMalini can put together.
Malini adds, “We endeavour to create a community that, through virtual events, mimics the wholesome feeling of in-person interactions. We’re encouraging people to ‘un-see the numbers and see the people’ again. Girl Tribe is our vision for the evolution of social media, where we all deserve to experience a kinder safer, more empathetic Internet. God knows we need it. So come join us in a world where positivity is the most valuable currency, and you control the purse strings!”
