WhatsApp Video Calling
WhatsApp, the Facebook-owned messenger app, announced that it is rolling out video calls to expand the communication features. WhatsApp has more than 2 billion users around the world. The feature will be available only for Mac and Windows desktop apps for now, but there are plans to make them available for tablets and phones. Only one-to-one video calls can be made at the moment, but group calls are planned for the future.
The video calls work for both portrait and landscape orientation. While the app remains primarily a text chat app, voice calls have evolved into a major feature. According to WhatsApp, it processed more than 1.4 billion calls on New Year’s Eve—one of the platform’s peak usage days. Millions of people use the app daily, with more than 100 billion messages processed, so incorporating video calls into their regular communication could carve out a significant piece of the video conference space. Each voice and video call will be end-to-end encrypted, just like texts and file sharing.
YouTube Chapters and Shorts
According to Statista, the average length of a YouTube video is 11.7 seconds. Why are videos trending longer? The main goal is to increase watch time, which can benefit both creators and YouTube. The platform now features the option to add chapters to your videos. This allows watchers to navigate forward and backward to timestamped areas of the video.
One of the big benefits is the ability to re-watch sections and quickly find the beginning of each section. Video creators enter timestamps in the description—a feature that has existed before—and chapter marks are added to the video progress board. Adding chapters to longer videos can also help with search engine optimization since the feature is meant to be more detailed and user-friendly. Chapters could be a terrific application for product demonstrations, trainings and even online business presentations.
YouTube Shorts follow the success of TikTok and Instagram Reels, featuring quick, portrait-orientation videos (15 seconds or less). Shorts are typically created with smartphones in more natural settings and uploaded right to YouTube. Just like with other videos on the platform, they show up in video suggestions based on user searches and interactions.
From the June 2021 issue of Direct Selling News magazine.
