StartupTalky

Tag: whatsapp

  • Comparing WhatsApp Business With Whatsapp

    Ever since the inception of the Whatsapp Messenger in 2010 even till the point of it’s acquisition by the administration of FACEBOOK and onward, the fastest growing messenger platform has undergone its cycles of ups, downs, booms and criticisms. Meanwhile, as Whatsapp and Whatsapp Business has to run with the aim of keeping up with trends, user feedback and an efficient management of the database of the more than 65 billion messages sent each waking day, upgrades and innovation would stand in as more of a necessity than a routine.

    Whatsapp Users_StartupTalky

    As the world closes in faster than ever towards the data age whence the world’s economy operates online, the commerce sector amongst others is not left out in the revolution as the era of e-commerce is closing in than ever. In January 2018, Whatsapp successfully launched the Whatsapp Business App for small business use in order to support businesses and basically created with the best interest of small business owners in mind. With a new capacity and enablement for the owners of small and medium scale businesses to connect with their clients, it was a very welcome initiative.

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    StartupTalkyVibhavari Madki

    It can be expected that a bone of contention would be raised regarding the need for the original version of Whatsapp or the supplementary significance of Whatsapp Business but herein are some things that may be needed to be put in consideration when placing the two Apps on the scale of need or satisfaction.

    The Scale of Privacy

    Imagine having to attend to business conversations as late as 9:00pm when your business actually closes daily operations as early as 5:00PM just because you do not want a client wondering why you are obviously online but not responding even after your latest Whatsapp story reads CLOSED FOR TODAY! as boldly as possible. It happens that you get torn between answering to a chat as personal as one form, say, your fiancé, and answering a client you have never met and need to create a good impression on.

    It is very tempting, especially for small business owners and entrepreneurs, to spend time meant for personal conversations, discussions and engagements on answering to a client. There is another fear to answer to when your personal/ mobile phone is borrowed is the same device used for business calls. In summary, the ability of a device to accommodate both the Whatsapp Messenger and the Whatsapp Business App helps every business owner to create a boundary between personal ‘stuff’ and business ‘stuff’.

    Working after work hours_StartupTalky

    By adhering to the time schedule placed on your Whatsapp Business profile as your ‘hours for business’, Whatsapp can assure you a safe haven for all private chats and groups while you go all out on the Whatsapp Business platform; being as actively online as possible so that you could attend to clients in time and ‘freeze’ it once your business hours are over. This ensures the continuity of private conversations on Whatsapp without being exposed to potential conversations relating business that could rob you of your personal space.

    Everything you need to know about Whatsapp Business
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    StartupTalkyChristianah Adeneye

    The Scale of Structure

    Whatsapp proves to be a very friendly and informal environment for chatting, messaging and exchange of moments and memories while Whatsapp Business is meant to be more formal, business-like environment with exchanges of transactions. In order to fit its purpose, the Whatsapp Business App comes with tools, features and packages that help stimulate an online business structure such as the following:

    • Cataloging
    • Profiling
    • Labels

    The Scale of Automation

    Whatsapp Business comes with features and tools that makes it easier for businesses to have a full operational structure online which would be totally not so useful for private purposes.

    Even at this, there are some of these features that can be explored for personal use, one of which is AUTOMATION. Just like voice mail boxes, automation of ‘away’ or ‘welcome’ messages calls your respondents tho action by welcoming then and encouraging them to drop a text or offline messages till you are around.

    There are really no much features that distinguish WhatsApp Messenger from WhatsApp Business asides the purpose for which the latter was created – business, of course. If you are a small business owner with a strong presence online, you might want to consider maximizing both.

  • Facebook’s New Venture: To Invest in Indian Startups

    Facebook, the social media giant, and one of the top companies in the field of Technology has been financially helping many startups across the world in the past few years by investing in them. Facebook has invested in Indian startups as well.  Some of the Indian startups in which Facebook has previously invested have now become very big names such as the online teaching platform ‘Unacademy’ and Reliance Jio in which Facebook has invested huge amounts of money. Facebook recently has come up with a new venture for investing in startups and financially help them. Facebook recently posted a job opening for the role of ‘Head of Investments’. According to them, they were looking for someone who had at least 10 years of experience in the Technology field.

    Facebook invests in Jio

    According to the job opening posted by Facebook, they were looking for someone who can lead and manage the multi-million dollar project that invests in leading private companies and will also propose and lead the execution of many new investments in other companies and startups. The job opening floated on the internet recently but was soon taken down. Facebook has given a statement in response to this that the job vacancy has been filled without giving out the name of the person who has been selected for the job.

    Also Read: Facebook Invests $5.7 billion in Jio Platforms for 9.99% Stake

    Why has Facebook decided to take this step?

    It is believed that this has been done to ensure that Facebook stays in close touch with the startup industry all over the world and to ensure that new startups and applications that they think will do big in the future can easily be acquired by them. The general idea of Facebook remains to try and acquire companies, generally social media platforms or tech-related companies, which are already large or have the potential to grow to great heights. For example, Facebook has acquired both Instagram and WhatsApp and tried to acquire Snapchat too, but they turned down the offer. Earlier this year, Facebook acquired GIPHY – The GIF Maker.

    Facebook Investing in Startups
    Two of the Biggest Social Media Platforms have been acquired by Facebook

    Facebook has been investing in many startups. Some have received huge financial help, while others have received a  relatively small amount of financial help. Facebook remains interested in startups with ideas that can generate huge revenues. Facebook has invested billions of dollars in Reliance Jio. This venture, however, is intended upon many of the small startups in the ‘Tech’ industry which will receive comparatively small financial aids. Facebook is reportedly looking for the best startups in different categories and will include these into this venture. Facebook offers it ‘Accelerator’ service to those startups who have managed to get their services or products out on the market already and are trying to grow. Facebook also offers its services to small startups who have just been launched and are currently working on their products or services. Facebook also has the option for full training under mentors for such startups.

    Also Read: Easy Ways To Find An Investor For Your Company

    This decision by Facebook will help boost the startup culture and ecosystem in India. More and more startups will come up with many new ideas every day. Therefore, this situation is a triple win situation. Firstly, the startups will benefit as they will receive financial aids. Secondly, Facebook will benefit by receiving huge amounts of returns when these startups, which are already acquired by them, turn into multi-million companies. Thirdly, the many new ideas that the startups will come up with will prove to be greatly beneficial for the general public.

    However, Facebook is competing with many big companies such as Microsoft, Intel, and Google which are already investing in many startups around the country. All these companies try to become the leaders of this field, and these types of ventures help them succeed at this mission.

  • Facebook launches Messenger Rooms to Compete Zoom

    During lockdown imposed due to COVID-19, video calling software is hugely popular at the moment especially Zoom has seen the boom in its usage. Now the world’s largest social network Facebook has released a new video conferencing tool Messenger Rooms that resembles Zoom.

    Due to lockdown and restrictions, many companies have asked their employees to work from home. We can say that Zoom rules the working from home video group chat kingdom right now as millions of people are relying on Zoom during the Coronavirus pandemic. Facebook wants more of the video calling market and hence has introduced a new tool called Messenger Rooms.

    The feature will allow up to 50 people to participate in a video chat through a link. It lets you video chat with multiple people through Messenger even if you don’t have a social media account. Facebook says participants do not need to be Facebook users to access the feature. This could help the company compete with popular videoconferencing app Zoom during the Coronavirus pandemic.

    The reason behind Zoom’s success was the requirement for businesses looking to keep connected and working with the maximum haste and minimum spend. But security and privacy was simply taken for granted by Zoom. One of the biggest security issues in Zoom is the increase in “Zoombombing” when uninvited attendees break into and disrupt your meeting. Thus, journalists, researchers and regulators have noticed its many security and privacy problems.

    Taking security and privacy concerns for granted wasn’t a great idea after all. As a result, many users started looking out for other videoconferencing tool which can also ensure security & privacy concerns. Taking advantage of this situation, Facebook must have taken the decision to launch Messenger Rooms.

    All about Messenger Rooms

    As explained by Facebook in a blog post, Messenger Rooms is not a separate app but rather a feature that can be launched from the existing Facebook or Messenger apps. And users can play around with virtual backgrounds too, like Zoom app.

    On Friday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a live broadcast,
    “ Messenger Rooms allows your friends and family to drop in at any time. Video presence isn’t just about calling someone. It’s starting to be a fundamental building block of a private social platform with lots of different use cases.”

    More than 700 million accounts participate in voice and video calls every day on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook said that the number of group video calls has gone up by more than 10 times in some cases since the coronavirus outbreak began.

    Mark Zuckerberg said,
    ” I know that this is a challenging period for so many of us around the world. My hope is that we can make a difference during this time and in the months ahead.”

    Facebook said that it would soon be adding Messenger Rooms integration to Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Portal video caller too. So users can jump into a video chat from whatever app or device they happen to be on.

    In many countries, video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled and views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos increased significantly in March when the lockdowns and social distancing came into practice globally. way of keeping in touch with friends and family while we’re all shut up and separated indoors.

    Comparing both apps, in social distancing times, Zoom allows up to 100 people to join a free video meeting from the comfort of their homes. But Zoom has put limit of 40 minutes on free calling. While, Facebook has announced Messenger Rooms that will allow group video calls of up to 50 people with no time limit.

    How to use Messenger Rooms?

    People can create a room right from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join the video call even if they don’t have a Facebook account. In Facebook Messenger Rooms, the users can also post links in their News Feed or in Groups or event pages. All you need to do is create a Room by clicking on a video icon on Facebook Messenger.

    When you create a room, you choose who can see and join it. You can remove people from the call. Users can also lock a room if they don’t want anyone else to enter. If your friends or communities create rooms that are open to you, you’ll see them on Facebook so you can find things to do and people to hang out with. You can join video calls through a phone or computer.

    Messenger Rooms Screenshots
    Facebook has given many controls to Host

    What about Privacy?

    Facebook says it has added a number of privacy features to secure Rooms unlike Zoom. The person who creates a room has the authority to let people join and must be present in order to initiate a call. The room creator can remove guests, and the room automatically locks for that person when he or she leaves.

    If your colleagues or friends create a room that is open for you, you will see them at the top of your news feed. The room can be limited to the members of the group or else anyone with the link can be allowed in. You can control who sees the room.

    Those who have been previously blocked on Facebook won’t be able to see the feature or join in. Additionally, people can report a group video chat for violating Facebook’s rules. Facebook has assured that it does not view or listen to calls. Facebook clarified that room calls are not end-to-end encrypted.

    Stan Chudnovsky, Facebook’s vice president of Messenger explained,
    ” We don’t view or listen to your calls, and the person who creates the room controls who can join, who sees the room, and if the room is locked or unlocked to new guests.”

    Related: Alternatives to Zoom App while Working Remotely

    Difference between Messenger Rooms and regular video calling on Facebook

    Facebook already has video calling feature in its Messenger app. There are several differences between Messenger Rooms and regular calling on Facebook. In messenger rooms, participants do not compulsorily need a Facebook account to join a video call created in Messenger Rooms.

    Like Zoom app, users can lock a room once everyone has joined in so that no one else can join. Only the person who created a room can grant permission to let someone join the video call. If you’ve blocked someone on Facebook or Messenger, they won’t be able to join a call. These features cannit be seen in regular Facebook video calling.

    Facebook is also adding new augmented reality effects in Messenger Rooms. It would include 14 camera filters to brighten your space and your face. Facebook is also introducing 360-degree backgroundsso users can feel like they’re somewhere else like the beach, space, etc. while they video chat. Users can play with AR effects like bunny ears and new AI-powered features like immersive 360 backgrounds and mood lighting.

    Facebook plans to add an option in Facebook Dating feature that makes it easier to meet and start new conversations with people who share your interests. This feature will be integrated within the main social network so that users can invite people to video chat in Messenger.

    When will Messenger Rooms be available?

    Facebook said it will be releasing out Messenger Rooms in selected countries this week before expanding globally. Other countries will get Rooms in the coming weeks. The social network didn’t specify which countries will get the new feature first.

    The release of the new tool Messenger Rooms is part of Facebook’s efforts around video presence which he defined as the ability to feel like you’re connected to someone live over video.

    Also Read: Say Namaste- An Indian Alternative Conferencing Platform for the Apps like ‘Zoom’

    What is the plan of Facebook?

    The company has also been expanding features for Facebook Live which is a tool people have been using more during the pandemic to work out, cook or attend religious services virtually. Facebook said it will bring back a tool that allows users to add another person to a live video.

    Instagram will now let you comment on live videos on your desktop and it also will make it possible to save your videos to IGTV so people can watch them after 24 hours. Facebook also plans to introduce a feature that’ll let you broadcast a live video from Facebook Portal to Facebook Pages and Groups.

    WhatsApp Group Calls will now be able to host a maximum of eight people instead of four. During lockdowns, views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos have also increased significantly in March. Facebook’s Live With video will allow people streaming a live video to invite another person to participate alongside them.