While ZOOM grabs the office set, social sharing app Houseparty has zoomed up the charts, going from #304 to #7 in the most-downloaded free iOS apps and pulling in two million downloads last week alone. Here’s what you need to know (via The Drum):
Well, How Did It Get Here?
Houseparty is no new kid on the block… its video-livestreaming predecessor Meerkat launched in 2015 and then morphed into Houseparty in 2017. Facebook tried to hook it before, but let it loose after some privacy concerns, so Fortnite owner Epic Games snapped it up last year. The popularity party stalled as TikTok and IG Stories took center stage—but then, the ‘rona came ’round, socializing quickly went long-distance, and the entire internet needed a new space to play. And playing is an integral part of the party—the app has built-in games like Chips and Guac (word association), trivia, and more.
What’s the Buzz?
Houseparty’s current incarnation allows instant connection to all your contacts, though it’s limited to eight people per party for now. Future incarnations will undoubtedly appear soon with upgrades.
How Will Houseparty Make Rent?
Partnerships and brand-name-dropping influencers will probably be Houseparty’s key to monetization. “Imagine a Spotify integration that allows you to synch music or a DJ set between actual house parties, a Netflix integration that takes ‘Netflix Party’ and scales it beyond Chrome browsers, or a Nike integration that allows you to wait for a digital SNKR drop with your seven closest friends,” says Phillip Huynh, head of content at DentsuX.
Who’ll Be Trying To Crash the Party?
The same dudes who always show up with a sixer and then drink twelve. Let the “borrowing” begin. (Under the circumstances, we’ll bring a case and Jell-O shots.)
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