More Viral than COVID-19

‘Download Houseparty!’ is the ‘add me on Insta?’ of March 2020 – the social call to action of an international society living through isolation.

Less than two weeks ago, Houseparty was the 1,450th most popular app on the App Store in India. Now, it's ranked third.

So what differentiates it from other video calling apps like ZOOM and why the lockdown was perfect to bring it back from the grave .

1)Social Spontaneity : Users can add friends directly from contact book and there is no need for Meeting IDs. User can join ongoing parties if the existing party doesn't "lock the room".

2) Replacement for after office or classes meet-ups: As it is the period of work from home, it's also the time for chill from home. It's the perfect app that you can use to connect with your gang.

But will the survive the after-math of this lockdown?

Take the case of Italy. After being #1 in mid-march ,it has already dropped down #4 as the population prepares for normalcy. Also, the majority of new downloads have been from adults who might not ample time after joining work.

The problem doesn't stop here. Houseparty has found it difficult to monetize its platform. The major source of income being its in-game ad revenues which it shares with the owners of the games like Heads Up! by Ellen DeGeneres. The user doesn't create a page which makes it difficult to add ads without distorting the experience. Also, there is a limit of 8 users per party so a promotion event might not work out.

So is this app in for a long haul or will it be a nostalgic memory of this pandemic?

Would love to hear your views and suggestions.