A lot of messaging apps have been highlighting how their
services are a great way for people to directly communicate with their
friends directly, in opposition to the bare-all nature of social
networks like Facebook. But today Viber,
the messaging app with 209 million users, is taking a different
approach: it is launching Public Chats, giving users a way of using its
direct messaging and voice services app to broadcast to the world at
large.
Public Chats will see the introduction of
live conversation streams — from celebrities, or as CEO Talmon Marco
told me, other interesting people “like taxi drivers!” — that will be
open for any follower to see, but not necessarily participate in. Users
will only be able to jump in and talk in Public Chats if the account in
question is in their contacts.
(And then, those comments will become a part of the public stream.)
It gives Viber, which was acquired by Japan’s Rakuten earlier this year for $900 million,
a little social media spin, and at the same time helps differentiate it
from the rest of the crowded messaging app pack, which is led by the
likes of Facebook (Messenger: 500m users; WhatsApp: 600m); but also
includes a number of other very popular apps like WeChat (600m users);
Line; and many more.
Public Chats is launching with a list of
“global celebrities” signed up, including Perez Hilton, YouTube
sensation Tyler Oakley, singer-songwriter Pixie Lott, international DJ
Paul van Dyk, digital fashion innovators Next Model Management, European
football channel COPA90.
Speaking while in New York for one of the two events that
Viber organised to announce this news (in NYC and London), Marco tells
me that it’s been optimised first for Android devices but will work on
other native Viber apps, versions 5.0 or higher. You select the Public
Chats bar from the main menu, then the “compass” icon to find a list of
available Public Chats to follow, then you follow them.
Marco would not comment directly on
whether any of Public Chats’ early adopters are getting paid to be on
the service but the process at least made it sound like some of them
were signing up as another way of extending their social media reach to
those who opt to use Viber as their communications platform of choice.
“We spoke with a bunch of people and some
offered to participate,” he said. “Generally we are looking for those
who can create interesting chats — not just celebs but others like taxi
drivers or bloggers, people whose conversations we feel would be
interesting.” And, presumably, okay with having their conversations, or a
part of them, made public for 209 million people to see.
Right now, there is no option for
everyone to enable their streams to become part of the public mix but
those who feel their chats are Public Chat-worthy can email
publicchats@viber.com and “We’ll take a look at it,” he says. “Our
intention is to open the service more after it is rolled out. As a beta
product we want to have greater control at first.”
For Viber, the motivation for doing this is two-fold. It’s
about using popular people to bring more engagement to Viber, and more
new users to the platform. But it’s also about differentiating itself
from the mass of other messaging services out there.
“This is not Twitter,” he says. “The idea is that if you
know Pixie Lott, she can add her to your Public Chat and the world can
see” what you say to her, and what she says back to you.
To be clear, this is not about Viber finding ways of
serving ads, Marco insists. Unlike Snapchat, which is pushing ahead on
its advertising services, “We are not,” he says. “This is just
additional content on Viber. There will be no ads in in Public Chats.”
Interestingly, that doesn’t preclude deals that brands
might cut directly with Public Chatters, similar to what happens in
Instagram or Twitter with certain stars using their feeds to promote
certain products. “Of course, you can put in an ad if you want for, say,
Coca-Cola. But it’s your content, your chat, and we are never going to
introduce things like that ourselves.”
Messaging App Viber Takes A Step Into Social Networking With New Public Chats Feature
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