The fact that Clubhouse’s valuation swelled to $1billion recently, got many heads turning. It is an invite-only social media platform that is available only on iOS at the moment has made it to the list of one of the most sought-after apps in a very short period.
Since it has been able to get many celebrities and silicon-valley CEOs on board already, industry leaders like Twitter and Facebook are either introducing clubhouse-like features on their platform or are even looking to clone Clubhouse altogether.
However, an Indian App called Leher could beat them all. Available on both Android and iOS platforms, it is a video discussion platform that allows likeminded people to share their ideas, network with people of similar interest and build relationships. The company claims that the platform has over 150,000 active users, who spend between 15-minutes to 2 hours regularly to discuss various topics.
- After Twitter, Facebook is looking to clone Clubhouse
- Twitter Spaces, a Clubhouse-like feature, goes live in India for some users
Interestingly, Leher has been around since 2018, way before Clubhouse came on the scene. It was founded by Atul Jaju and Vikas Malpani, the duo behind CommonFloor, a real estate marketplace. With over 100,000 downloads and an impressive 4.3 out of 5-star rating on both App Store and Play Store, Leher has a loyal user base.
Unlike Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces, Leher has both Audio and Video club rooms and doesn’t need any special invitation to join. It also piggybacks on the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat campaign that was set in motion by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year around the time India and China clashed in the Galwan Valley.
Indian versions of Whatsapp, Twitter and more...
Ever since the government banned a slew of Chinese applications, the market was flooded with their made in India alternatives. We had quite a few replacements of TikTok that were introduced soon after the video-sharing platform got banned.
Social media platform Twitter, that has been locking horns with the Indian government and is staring at the prospect of being banned in the country, has got another application to worry about. Homegrown app Koo is not any other Twitter-alternative but with Indian lawmakers and ministries joining the app has got its downloads soaring already.
Compared to Twitter’s 260-character limit, Koo offers 400 characters in each post. And with over a million users already signed up and the support it is getting from the federal government, Koo stands a good chance to offer Twitter a run for its money.
Similarly, Sandes, which translates to message in English, is another platform that is being backed by the government as it tries to move away from communicating on WhatsApp. Though Sandes is available for both iOS and Android, a direct download from the app repositories doesn't happen. Instead, the installable files are made available on a government portal.
It offers all the regular features that one would want in any regular messaging platform including the ability to send messages, media files, and even voice calls.
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