Fizz brings anonymous posting to UCO through brand ambassadors

The new social media app Fizz arrived on the UCO campus on February 19. The app received over 2,000 downloads from UCO students within the day. Despite its instant popularity across campuses, students were left with questions and concerns regarding the new platform.

Fizz is a platform that promises anonymity within posts. Students often compare Fizz to platforms such as Twitter and Reddit. Founded in 2020, Fizz was created in response to the lack of communication during the Covid-19 pandemic.

To create an account, students must use their school email. Along with providing this information, every user is given the choice of creating a unique handle or keeping their account as “anonymous.” In the case that a user wants to comment on a post with other anonymous accounts, the users will be labeled as “Anonymous 1,” “Anonymous 2” and so forth.

While given a number, users cannot find out the identity of a user unless a user posts something that would hint at their identity. Comment and post history is only available for the poster to see and other users cannot track or view someone else’s history without their school email information.
“We thus set out to create Fizz, a private campus-specific platform that facilitates authentic conversations while being properly moderated by other students in the community,” said Fizz’s official website.

To promote the app on UCO’s campus, Fizz employed student labor. The Fizz company paid UCO students to be “ambassadors” for the app, in return, they would be paid a minimum of $50 with incentives of earning up to $90.

Mercedes Cosby, a UCO student and Fizz ambassador, shared her experience working for Fizz.
“I personally did not feel like I was the face of Fizz, but a lot of people I promoted the app to took me as the face of Fizz. When a lot of negativity came on the app, a lot of people [began] coming up to the ambassadors for help, but there was nothing I could do to help them. If you were able to get three friends to download the app and two friends in the Fizz GroupMe, then you gained 15 extra dollars. There was extra money available to be made but $50 was the standard.” says Cosby.
The standard was to promote the app for at least three hours in order to get paid, Cosby said. If students downloaded the app in front of an ambassador, they were given a Krispy Kreme donut in return.

Despite Cosby promoting the app, she was unable to receive her payment from Fizz due to her not having a Venmo account. Daleigh Harrison, another Fizz ambassador, shares details on how she received payment.

“I made a total of $65 — $50 from doing my 3 hour shift and then $15 from sharing Fizz on my Instagram story. If you made under $100, you would get paid through Venmo or gift card value. You were also able to also talk to the marketing manager about a different payment method. If you made $100 or more, you were paid through direct deposit.” Harrison said.

Ambassadors were required to complete a training via Zoom before promoting the app and a target goal of 4,000 downloads. Despite receiving payment from the company, students say the communication between them and Fizz was limited. Fizz relied heavily on students promoting the opportunity to work for them rather than contacting students individually, according to Cosby.
“I interacted with friends who were also ambassadors more than Fizz representatives. However I did have a little communication from Fizz.” Cosby said.

Per Fizz’s frequently asked questions page on their website, the company assures users that the platform is not affiliated with any educational institution and does not generate revenue from downloads.

Fizz Company has not responded to a request for comment.