https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/11/makers-fund-mew-troph-metaverse-virtual/

Raven Gao didn’t set up virtual social platform MEW to ride the metaverse wave. He began working on MEW in mid-2019 with a Tencent veteran because he wanted to build a virtual safe haven for socially awkward introverts like himself.

MEW’s interface can be perplexing for many people at first glance. The lingo and aesthetics of the app have a clear appeal to fans of the anime, comic and gaming (ACG) subculture, Gao remarked. Cute anime-style images and creamy colors embelish the app and command buttons use terms more familiar to ACG fans. Rather than “signup”, MEW calls it “create your traveling file.” Users interact through interest-based hubs dubbed “strongholds” managed by other users, a design similar to that of Discord. Even the app’s name MEW, which is short for “Members of the Excellent World,” exudes an air of camaraderie for fantasy lovers.