With COVID-19 developing across the globe and forcing many countries into lockdown to reduce the curve and slow down the spread of infection, the use of social platforms has never been more important.
We have easily adapted to using platforms professionally to continue to conduct meetings and carry out our usual 9-5, however, there is now a rise in our changing social communication.
While usual springtime activities would involve going to the pub beer garden, the beach or heading to the park, many countries are now faced with quarantine restrictions and limited activities/sanity to keep us motivated/engaged and optimistic about the future.
Enter Houseparty;
An app which saw continual growth in users and daily user time from 2016 to 2018, Houseparty brings the social into video calling in a way that our usual video conferencing suites and main social platforms don’t.
While our typical platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are great for complaining about our quarantine away from the sun or gaining any tips we can get in homeschooling children, they don’t allow us to converse or fully interact with each other or simple DO something sociable.
Houseparty gains access to your contacts on permission and allows you to create a call with up to 8 people at a time.
You can leave the virtual door unlocked and friends of friends can come and join you at any point to see you and chat. The door can be locked at any point by its participants to stop users from joining the chat.
Mixed in with your usual video conferencing, is an array of games such as heads up or trivia. This creates a clear distinction between our usual video conferencing in the 9 to 5 to be able to fully interact with our friends and families while we can’t physically see them. There is no faff on dial-in numbers or access codes creating a simple experience for all family ages with a smartphone.
AppAnnie has now ranked Houseparty number 7 on its most popular free apps, a huge leap from position 304 just two weeks ago. However, while we might see the popularity of Houseparty grow and remain while we are stuck in self-isolation, it will be interesting to see how the platform evolves or is used when our normal social interactions resume.