We hadn't talked about Kik for a while. A messaging app that has been relegated for that WhatsApp, Telegram and LINE, although it continues to wage war when in certain countries it continues to have its importance. If we talk about it again, it is because its development team has released a new update, so we are facing another of the alternatives on the market that without attracting much attention continues to push as hard as it can.
This app has a large audience in the United States and Canada, especially among youth and adolescents, and has been updated today to add video chat to its service. Instead of doing it in a more normal way, as has been the video call on WhatsApp, Kik has introduced a less intrusive video option to its more than 300 million registered users, with the support of what is groups of up to 6 people.
Putting a twist on video calling
One of the peculiarities of Kik video calls is that, instead of relegating in the format in which the speaker is shown on the main screen, which essentially forces participants to leave what they are doing to take part in the discussion, this app has created an additional layer that is positioned over the conversation chat and is accessible to everybody; even when participants are out of the conversation or unable to activate their video.
As stated by Kiki CEO Ted Livingstone, the chat becomes a shared space in which the video call also has its share. From here, the video streams are smaller and float above the text in a way that does not obstruct the view at all. What is interesting is that the interface also puts its own video streaming to the side, so that no one is wasting their time observing their own appearance. This is a mistake that the vast majority of us make and that is now being solved from Kik.
What this achieves is that the conversation through text flow during video, with the option of being able to share visual content such as stickers, images or videos during the video call connection, which is activated by clicking on the icon in the upper right corner.
So finally we are left with a video streaming that appears floating while all that multimedia content plus the text of the chat flows before us without being interrupted. A more entertaining way to enjoy a pleasant time with friends and so it seems that Kik has managed to find the right key to take us to another experience.
Let's copy!
If that experience adds up integers, it won't take long for the rest of the competition to add it to their apps so that video calls have other nuances, since it is in this functionality where they are merely copied without bringing any novelty that arouses other sensations. If we look at Skype and WhatsApp in video calls, they are almost identical and are quite different from what Kik offers right now with this new update.
Kik maintains that video chat had been one of the main features requested by its user base. Kik has also had a close relationship with chat bots this year, but it is now that they want to add a very important functionality for entertainment and that comes in the best possible time, Christmas.
For next year you can wait for the multimedia extension and the introduction of features such as payments. An app that takes another path to differentiate itself from the competition, more focused on copying than trying to transform those experiences we are used to with a group video call that has been given a twist this time on Kik.
