Facebook has recently announced that its ‘New Product Experimentation team’ which focuses on various app features is bringing in a new app, called Collab.
This Collab app is very openly inspired by TikTok, and it is launching as an invite-only beta for iOS users at the moment.
The central idea is the same, this app allows the users to create and watch music videos and even lets them mash-up original videos.
The users will be able to add their own recordings and compositions to their videos. The app will also allow them to swipe across the platform to discover other pre-recorded videos that can be mashed up and merged to create new videos. Just like TikTok videos, users can share their creations on all their social media platforms with friends and family.
According to Facebook, this app is going to make people come virtually closer and have fun amidst this coronavirus pandemic, with the lockdowns and social distancing implementations.
The beta testing invites will be sent in batches, starting with people in the US and Canada first. Other people can also request to be in the waitlist from this page.
While the rationale behind producing an app like Collab is simple and sweet, allowing people to explore their innate musical talents when there is so much free time due to the shelter-at-home and social distancing conditions, there is still a small nagging question that arises in our minds. Why did Facebook have to bring something almost similar to what an already very famous app offers?
TikTok already has gained massive popularity amid this coronavirus crisis. It is even being used now for marketing by major brands, as they all had to cut down their production costs on advertisements. So, a lot of big and small brands turned to engage with TikTok stars to promote their products. This is an efficient, cost-effective way that allows personal engagement with the consumers too.
So, when TikTok was already there and serving so much, did Facebook really have to come up with another app like that? Honestly, this seems unnecessary cloning competition, which at the moment, does not make much sense. However, only time can tell if it will turn out to be better in features than TikTok or not? We will have to wait till it rolls out eventually to judge its pros and cons and draw comparisons between the two apps accurately.
For the time being, we can wish Facebook the very best of luck with their app and other features like Messenger Rooms and Shops that they have recently announced to launch.
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by Arooj Ahmed
Published May 29, 2020
