Ben, great question. Talkk is a social network. In group messaging, you have to add/specify members who will be part of the group. So I'll have to know who is watching a basketball game, for instance, to add them to the group. Here, you start a conversation, and whoever is interested joins.
@bentossell Only friends can write on your personal stream. Topic-based channels can be less constrained, up to 1 degree of separation from the channel owner. We have micro controls for visibility, ability to post, ability to invite for channels.
@bentossell@alexmehr Do you really need a huge and promising value prop in order to create a functioning social network or messenger? People are your biggest asset after all, and I believe that getting them to use your platform nowadays isn't always as straightforward as „Great, blatant value = Growth“.
I always like to think of my experience with Snapchat. A few years back when I first downloaded it, I didn’t understand the need for it and deleted the app after a few minutes. Now everyone of my friends has Snapchat and I’m using it on a daily basis. I still don’t feel the urge for the product itself but it’s a really fun way to communicate.
Same goes for Peach. It might not be that convincing with its magic words, but in the end your peers are the driving force. And when all of them are going to join in, you’ll definitely feel the need for it.
Anyways, good luck with Talkk, really like the playful style! Unfortunately nothing happened when I typed in „ta-da“ 10 times in a row. 😞😃
Report
@bentossell I think the thing about Talkk is that there doesn't seem to be anything unique about it. to @phiktional, snapchat has the disposable messaging feature at its core. whether people saw value in it initially was questionable, but it was the main thing that they could rally around.
what's so unique about Talkk?
@thejeremycarson not sure if you have tried the product or not. The essence of Talkk is it's ability to enable you to have a "conversation" that is relevant at that moment with a spontaneous subset of your friends. Can you achieve the same thing through a mish-mash of other mediums? absolutely. would you do it? not really. It's the same as saying well I could message you through email back in 90s, why do I need a new communication medium? With current products when you want to have a conversation, you either have direct message (a pre-defined audience with a high interruption permission) or posting on a news feed like Facebook (where your spontaneous plea for a conversation will have to fight all the broadcasters). We believe there is a need for something in between. Here is a bit more color if you are interested https://medium.com/@alexmehr/why... - I hope you all give it shot with a few friends and experience the magic that our beta testers have seen over the past month or so.
Report
@philipkuklis@bentossell@alexmehr "People are your biggest asset". Agreed, which is why social apps like this should consider having both iOS and Android apps as part of the minimum viable product. I can't really give this app a full test because most of my friends are on android. Same problem with Peach, Meerkat, etc. All that initial buzz, wasted.
Looks pretty cool! Unless I'm missing something it would be nice to have suggestions on channel to join (my suggestion tab is empty and I can only share my handle). The Search is ok but I go crazy looking for every things I might be interested to!
@mrdobelina you suggestions are based on people you follow. The more people you follow, the more relevant content gets exposed to you.
Report
@shayang but how can I follow anybody if I don't know what is out there? that's a catch-22. (and what if I don't want to invite my friends...it's very common for this gen to not have total overlap of contacts between messaging platforms)
Report
This reminded me of Rooms, an app which Facebook Labs launched 2014. The idea is there but it just can't replace existing IM apps, and like @bentossell mentioned, what value it adds to the user?
Report
*downloads app*
"Log into with Facebook"
*heavy sigh, deletes app*
Here's why someone like me (someone who doesn't use Facebook and doesn't use much of Twitter anymore, either) will not use this app: because I'm locked out of a really cool app experience.
The whole point of chat is to meet *new* people. Not people you already know--maybe you might get to know something new about a person you already know--but 99% of most chat apps, including the ones that are popular like WhatsApp, already operate on the basis that you have to know someone in order to talk to them. This is inherently counterproductive, and in a market already saturated with apps that do this ad nauseaum, adds little to a field that is looking for improvement and new forms of integrating emerging technologies.
The spirit of Internet chat is random, spontaneous, and enlightening. I think this app could be great, but it needs to be released from that pesky Facebook login and this overarching need to stay rooted in existing social networks. Most people are looking to meet someone new.
Talkk
Talkk
Hubble
Trustroot
Tailry
Trustroot
Trustroot
Trustroot