Google thought it would make something (Google Wave) which is actually a lot of things and run away with the Unified Communications sector as a whole. But wait, here comes Lissn , which is conversation simplified. Twitter and Google wave together with glimpses of the Yahoo messenger chat rooms of the old era, without spam though.
So what is Lissn?
I tried it a while back. There aren’t enough users yet but there is enough to give you a peek. The idea is that people can create conversations and others can join in. Yes, it is as simple as that. There are a number of categories like technology, science, gaming etc. All the new conversations seem to be clubbed in a list to the right.
So what are the pros?
Actually quiet a few, to say the least.
- It can become a boon for the marketing people if it catches up. Marketers will be able to converse with real time people and bots
, if it grows. - The interface is simple. You do not need to work too hard to figure out what is going on.
- There is a location based thing which understood that I am from Mumbai, and could take me to my local converstions if I wanted to.
- Facebook has acquired FriendFeed. So there is potential in similiar services according to facebook.
I find FriendFeed doing quiet a few of these things. - They claim to have native language conversion working for them. I could not figure out how.
- They have this favourites thing which will show the present hot topics. As there were not enough conversations happening, I saw quiet a few blank pages there.
And what are the cons?
- Lissn seems a bit like the Yahoo Messenger of the old with chat rooms.
- I am not sure if Lissn will use something like hashtagging to group a few topics together. That feature is a complete need if Lissn wants to grow.
- Google Wave is coming. We need to see what they come up with. But according to me Google Wave seems a bit more closed in the approach to conversations.
- Lissn will show ads based on keywords within conversations, just like Google does in Gmail. I am not sure if people like ads in the middle of conversations.
- There are glitches in the interface with some long topics (spam for lissn) go out of the intended area.
- Lissn needs to allow for something like a private conversation among people (this should be invite based probably).
- Right now I couldnot even import my contacts to Lissn.
I am sure Lissn listens to all this and more. They have a good concept but a lot of competition. I like the product quite a bit. It can become a big marketing tool for people who will start converstions using multiple accounts. I am sure the marketing people, the advertising people and the social media may just run after this if the glitches are removed.
To see their presentation click here
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