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The unstoppable rise of video calling apps in COVID-19 lockdown

Video calling platforms have gone from professional obligation to recreational pastime during the Covid-19 lockdown. 

Trying to muster positives in a time of global crisis is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Businesses are going belly up every day that the lockdown persists, with most global stock markets down more than 20% of their highs.

However, there is one particular line of business that has seen a meteoric rise of fortunes amidst all the hysteria – and chiefly the boredom, let’s be honest. With people forced to self-isolate in their homes, including us at Thred, people are flocking to video calling platforms to reach out to friends and family members. As a result, engagement levels with these apps have spiked significantly and the numbers show no signs of signs of slowing down.

If your work is off-desk you may not be too familiar with the apps we’re talking about. But if your daily hustle unfolds within the digital realm; you’ll already be familiar with the likes of Skype and Facetime. But it’s perhaps the ‘lesser known’ platforms that are creating the biggest wave amid all this social distancing; we’re talking the likes of Zoom, Houseparty, Google Hangouts, and Discord.

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This surge of new users can, for the most part, be divided into two different pools: those who need the technology for business purposes, and those who’re looking to maintain some remnant of a social life with friends and family. And both are frankly spoilt for choice. The unique pros and drawbacks of each app mean that people are pairing up video calling platforms to fulfil different desires at different times. 

Within work hours, a steady connection is essential and many people need to be able to communicate with each other at once. And after hours, or at the weekend people want to kick back in a relaxed environment with friends and amuse themselves with silly pastimes. 

Zoom is becoming wildly popular in this period for business settings. Even Boris Johnson is on-board the hype train. Allowing up to 100 people in a chatroom at once (or 500 with the paid service), Zoom is renowned for maintaining a steady connection, and offers seamless compatibility with instant messaging/ management platforms like Slack. Its ability to screen-share also lends perfectly to digital start-up meetings and big business conferences alike. 

When it comes to killing some time and shooting the breeze with friends, apps like Brunch and Houseparty are becoming the quintessential platforms. Hosting up to eight people each, both are unequivocally geared towards Gen Z. I can’t imagine my parent’s knowing much trivia about Lil Uzi Vert, or using the word ‘dank’ for that matter. Mini-game features like Quick Draw (basically Pictionary), and Chips and Guac (Cards Against Humanity) make the experience of holding your phone at arm’s length about as fun as it can be. My girlfriend’s incessant laughing would certainly suggest so.

It won’t come as a surprise that the popularity of video calling apps is stirring concerns about privacy. It’s just part and parcel of success in tech. As the reward grows, so does the risk.

While it’s true that most people’s chats won’t be interrupted, there are concerns over increasing cases of hacking and calls being invaded. ‘Zoombombers‘ (trolls on Zoom) are broadcasting derogatory and offensive content on public chats through the previously mentioned screen-share feature. And people are boldly suggesting Houseparty has been compromised to the extent that it’s providing hackers a gateway into other private platforms such as PayPal, Netflix, and Spotify.

As consumers we have to recognise that, as the news is telling us every 10 seconds, this pandemic is ‘unprecedented’. And we should cut these companies some slack. These video calling apps weren’t designed for the myriad of ways consumers are using them, and they certainly weren’t prepared for this influx of new users. However, they’ve found themselves in this position and will have to adapt quickly if they want to retain their lofty audiences once we regain some normality. 

Never in a million years will you catch them admitting it, but truthfully this global lockdown has been something of a blessing in disguise for these video communication companies.

What’s your go-to service in lockdown?

 

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