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Totem Tuesday: August 20th, 2024
Hey there—
This week is a fun one.
You ready?
Buckle up, bucko!
🤠
It's time for another...
🎉 TOTEM TUESDAY 🎉
(a literal and metaphorical party in the inbox)
Alright Tribe—let’s Vibe 😎
We are getting closer to rollout every single week, and the excitement is building...
✅ QA Testing has been amazing
✅ BIG improvements have been made
✅ The Totem is better (and prettier) than ever
More on all that below 😘
Two quick announcements before we get started...
1)
Last week we received the first shipment of our new PCB and it worked perfectly. That means that we have officially LOCKED DOWN our final hardware!
We are very confident that these PCBs will be the final version that powers YOUR Totem Compass, because of all the thorough QA Testing we've done over the past two months.
Now all that remains is fine-tuning the software... which means that full-scale production will start very soon.
Speaking of which... 😎
2)
⬇️ TIMELINE UPDATE ⬇️
We are in the final few weeks of QA Testing, which is the final phase before rollout.
QA Testing has been a massive success and we're still on track to ship this Fall.
Soon we'll start getting much more specific on the exact rollout window.
In fact... We will have a big update on rollout timing in 2 weeks! We're getting very close now.
Beautiful things come to those who wait—and you have earned a very beautiful thing from us.
🫶
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OK! Enough housekeeping.
Let’s get into it.
This is our weekly progress report to all our favorite people.
Welcome to the Totem Tuesday 3-2-1.
3 things we accomplished,
2 things we learned,
1 thing coming up
Let’s go, Tribe!
P.S. — we have so many new people joining the Totem Tribe this week!If this is your first Totem Tuesday, we are so grateful that you found your way here. Welcome to the Tribe 🤗
3 things we accomplished
1) Touch Crystal Design
One common question we've gotten during QA Testing...
"Why is there a cross in the middle of the Totem?"
😅
It was never meant to be a cross... It's a Totem "t".
But now that you mention it, the "t" has gotten pretty cross-like. 😳
One of our Core Values here at Totem is Unity. There is no room for divisiveness, or "othering" in our Tribe. Only inclusivity.
So we've made one final design change before production, based on your feedback...
THE CROSS IS NO MORE
Instead, you get the most beautiful Totem Crystal the world has ever seen.
The new Crystal on all final Totem Compasses will be...
- unapologetic
- uncensored
- unshackled
- uninhibited
- unfiltered
It's brighter, looks better from the side angles, and most importantly—it doesn't alienate people.
2) Peer Light Update
Another piece of common feedback we've gotten during QA Testing...
"How do I know how far away my friends are?"
You speak, we listen. 🫶🏼
We've implemented a new feature that tells you how far away your friend is!
Here's how it works:
Your friend's light begins to expand as you get closer to them.
As you get closer and closer, their light will keep getting bigger and bigger.
When you find your friend, their light will jump into your Crystal to signify how you are both reunited once again 🥰
This simple change makes it really easy to know whether you're far away, or whether you're getting close!
Simple, intuitive, beautiful. That's the Totem way.
Peep the photos below to see what it looks like!
3) Vibe Mode Mute
One final piece of common feedback we've gotten during QA Testing...
"Is there any way to turn off the light show in Vibe Mode?"
We get this one a lot from parents with autistic children, people who have epilepsy, and other medical conditions that can make you sensitive to light.
We hear you, and we care about your feedback.
So now you can officially mute Vibe Mode to turn off the light show whenever you want!
And here's a surprise gift... Now you can dim or brighten the lights too 🤩
It's super simple ⬇️
Click the power button while the Totem is on to cycle through light modes.
There are 3 modes: Bright, Dimmed, or Muted.
That's all there is to know!
We want everyone in this Tribe to feel heard and valued. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback with us. 🫶🏼
2 things to learn
1) 2.4GHz: the Universal Frequency
Do you know what frequency the Totem Compass operates on?
If you answered 2.4GHz, you were right!
But have you ever wondered WHY we chose the 2.4GHz frequency? 🤔
One of our core values at Totem is Unity. We want to build a community that welcomes everyone, and build a product helps everyone.
2.4GHz is the most universal frequency in the modern world today. In fact, it's one of the only frequencies that is 100% legal in every single country on the planet.
We didn't build this product just to help the people we know. We built this product to help everyone, regardless of where they live or how they live.
In fact, that's the same reason we chose to use GNSS instead of just GPS—we built this for a global rollout using global standards.
That's the same reason we use meters in our messaging, despite being a team filled with Americans.
We built this for all people. That's what Unity is all about.
P.S. — remember that the Totem Compass does NOT use Wi-Fi. We use a connectionless communication protocol that also operates at 2.4GHz. This protocol gives us much further range with much lower congestion than Wi-Fi. 😘
2) Consent is Everything
Consent is so important.
It's always a top priority for us here at Totem.
This is a particularly important consideration when you're making a product designed to track people. Everything about this device must be designed with consent in mind.
We've integrated explicit, two-way consent on the Totem Compass in multiple ways.
For example... ⬇️
- You can't bond with someone without their consent
- You can't be tracked when you don't want to be
- You can delete yourself off someone else's Totem remotely
The Totem is a tool for friends. For families. For love. It's not a tool for exploiting people. Consent matters. Period. End of story.
1 thing to look forward to
Promise you'll keep this on the DL...?
OK, then I'll tell you a little secret.
Totem is hiring again! 🥳
That's right—our team is growing once again. We are ready to add Team Members 7 & 8!
Stay tuned over the next couple weeks for two new job openings on the founding team at Totem.
Being part of this company is the ride of a lifetime. We are extremely excited to share this ride with two new, very special people.
More details coming soon 😘
The Home Stretch
Hey there 😊👋
Can you feel it?
That energy in the air?
We're approaching the home stretch. I'm so excited for the day that your Totem arrives at your own front door.
It'll be here before you know it.
And then, we'll be one step closer toward our ultimate goal.
Totem exists to bring people together.
More love. More memories. More freedom.
No one deserves to feel lost.
Everyone deserves to feel love.
And we won’t stop until they do.
Thank you for supporting us as we build a beautiful company from the ground-up.
We cherish you.
Thank you.
Totem Team, out.
✌️
(P.S. — if this is your first Totem Tuesday, we hiiighly recommend that you go back and check out the Totem Tuesday archives. Every single decision we’ve made with the product is detailed extensively in past editions. Have fun 😘)
