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Facebookâs Clubhouse âcompetitorâ is here, and itâs called Hotline
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It was only a matter of time: Facebook today launched an experimental Clubhouse competitor called Hotline, looking to capitalize on the increasingly popular social media format.
As reported by TechCrunch, Hotline was developed by Facebookâs NPE (New Product Experiment) division, which regularly doles out apps with new ideas (or, in this case, not so new). That said, Hotline does have a few features to differentiate itself from Clubhouse and Twitterâs Spaces.
Most notably, it supports video and will allow participants to toggle video when asking a question, although that feature isnât live yet. Video appears to play a secondary role to audio though, as streams are presented in small circles the size of a profile image, rather than taking up a big chunk of the screen a la Twitch.
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Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is beta testing Hotline, a new app being positioned to rival Clubhouse.
What Happened: Hotline is being developed Facebook’s New Product Experimentation (NPE) team under the direction of Eric Hazzard, who joined the company in 2017 after it acquired his teen-polling app “tbh.”
While Hotline emulates Clubhouse’s Q&A format, it also includes a video component that the audio-only Clubhouse lacks and will automatically record events as they occur Clubhouse events are not recorded.
Furthermore, Hotline will be free for any user to join, unlike Clubhouse’s invitation-only set-up, and there is no limit on the size of audiences participating in events.
Facebook s experimental app Hotline is like Clubhouse with video yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
8 April 2021, 2:07 am EDT By
On Thursday, Apr. 8, Facebook s NPE (New Product Experiment) division spearheads the creation of Hotline, a potential competitor of Clubhouse, a popular invitation-only audio-chat iPhone app launched in 2010.
Since the social media giant stated its interest in making a similar app in February, the clone app has been making waves about hitting the market soon.
Facebook s Hotline is a Mix of Clubhouse and Instagram Live
(Photo : Screenshot from YouTube/Alan Mod)
The obsession of Facebook in chasing Clubhouse features is evident since it already launched the app s public beta testing at the moment. TechCrunch reported that Hotline will look like a combined version of Clubhouse and Instagram Live.