Facebook has also joined the bandwagon of Clubhouse-like products with its new test application ‘Hotline’. It’s a Clubhouse-like Q&A platform with support for live-streaming launched by Facebook’s test application team, NPE. Facebook has been spotted testing new features like Clubhouse however Hotline will be different.
Hotline by Facebook has the core functioning like Clubhouse but it differs as it allows hosts to use video as well. Hosts can also schedule Q&A presentations which are more meeting-like than Clubhouse where it’s more casual. Hotline like other video conferencing platforms allows hosts to record their sessions, and in both audio and video formats.
Questions and answers is the core element of Hotline and how the platform works. The host gets questions through text which they answer during the sessions.As for the viewers, they react using emojis, and also upvote questions they want answered by the host. While it’s more of a host and audience type setting, one engaging feature would be the host inviting audience members to ask their questions live. Clubhouse also gives most control to the host but Hotline seems to depend entirely on the host. That way Clubhouse offers a platform for group sessions where listeners also have options to participate in the session.
Hotline at present users to sign in through Twitter, and after verify their character by means of SMS. The platform is free to join wherever it’s available, and there’s no audience size limit as of now. Hotline’s website is live but the platform isn’t available in India yet.
