How Chinese Dating App Momo Witnesses Rapid Growth? Is It Because of Live Streaming?

How Chinese Dating App Momo Witnesses Rapid Growth? Is It Because of Live Streaming?

Who knew that a location-based relationship app in China, set up to let millennials find like-minded partners in their vicinity, would eventually end up raking in 80% of its revenue from live streaming? Nobody. But Momo, an app that lets members connect through social posts, live videos, chat windows, personal and video posts, has done just that.

The Momo Growth Story

Momo was started in 2011 in China, with an aim to unite people within the same geography. For instance, if you had the Momo app downloaded onto your phone, and you happened to be in a restaurant, café or park, you would be able to trace people nearby. It is more specific than your average Tinder, because it boasts a unique radius, ensuring that the matches you receive are virtually within walking distance of you. The company has demonstrated tremendous growth since last year, as chronicled in its annual report. Having grown by 524% in the first quarter of last year and then topping it off with an annual revenue hike of 313%, Momo is going places. But Momo hasnt always had it hunky dory. After its initial wave of popularity way back in early 2015, it witnessed a trough, a trend the company attributed to a slump in smartphone sales and a setback in software updates. It was with the onset of new business initiatives, like the introduction of live streaming software on its platform, that Momo regained its momentum.

The Role of Live Streaming in Momo’s Success

So, we have established that Momo is doing phenomenally well. But what was the turning point for this Chinese homegrown venture? In late 2015, the company added live streaming on its app, a feature that users lapped up from the get go.

Live streaming apps arent unusual in China, but it was even more relevant for Momo to integrate the service into its platform because it enabled users to virtually connect with others before arranging a physical meeting. Live streaming has brought in exorbitant revenues for Momo, adding up to $194. 8 million in the third quarter of 2016 alone. Today, live streaming is the largest revenue stream for the company, composing 80% of total revenues.

Many small firms today, are dabbling in live video streaming, thanks to economical platforms such as Streamhash. The good news is that you neednt overhaul your existing technology stack to introduce live streaming to your platform. You can purchase a readymade framework. Streamhash provides a turnkey technology that lets you do just that. Just plug and play, and youre ready to go in just two days.

Momo’s Monetisation Model:

Momo has established three primary revenue streams as part of its monetization model:

Membership Subscription:

Momos initial revenue approach revolved around paid membership subscriptions. Of course, anybody was free to use the app, but a membership unlocked exclusive benefits such as premium logos, refined search options, offers in the emoticon store, more features in a group chat and a window that allowed users to view the visitors that had visited their page of late. Today, the membership stands at $2 per month, which is further discounted, if a user chooses to lock in a higher tenure.

Sale of Digital Content:

In 2013, Momo started showcasing digital content, like value added services that nest within games, and business marketing services. In 2014, Momo started Dao Dian Tong, a feature through which ventures had the option of setting up accounts that users could follow, a bit like Twitter or Facebook.

Live Streaming:

We spoke earlier of how live streaming has become Momos key revenue driver. This is mainly because there has been a tremendous rise in paid users of the live video streaming service. The platform includes gifts that viewers can send to broadcasters, to catch their attention or as a token of gratitude. Then, Momo takes a small share of the worth of the gift and gives the rest to the broadcaster. By September 2016, the number of live streaming users had touched 1.3 million! Users employ the platform to project anything from beauty tutorials to music countdowns. Momo doesnt see the live video as purely a revenue play. Live video represents a new generation of netizens who use the internet as a creative outlet, as a medium of expression, and it is this growing trend that Momo intends to capitalize on, by turning existing users into users of live streams. It’s little wonder that a growing number of small and medium enterprises today are following suit, by employing live streaming platforms, the likes of Streamhash.

Mobile Game Revenue:

Momo lets you game your way into forming a new friendship. By adding a suite of games to their app, all developed in-house, the company saw a spike of 45% in revenue in the last quarter of 2016.

Momo’s Positioning and Marketing Strategy:

Momo has been inventive in the way that it has marketed itself since its birth, using simple, easy techniques to position the brand. In the summer of 2014, Momo launched a slew of outdoor advertising vehicles, from hoardings to street signages, to communicate its value proposition. The brand laid emphasis on its novelty. It also resorted to newspaper advertising to promote itself as a social media app. But what it did in the merchandising space was a masterstroke. Momo penetrated retail spaces and stuck badges over displays for toothpaste, detergent, and other household items. Their intention was to ingrain the brand in the minds of consumers.

Building Your Own Momo:

Businesses like Momo are composed of intricate layers of technology, constituting a fair share of the companys total expenses. Regardless of the industry that you are in, there are a few leaves you can take out of Momos entrepreneurial book, to make your business successful.

Integrate Live Streaming:

Live streaming, for one, has served as a fantastic growth engine for the company, proving that users are drawn by the power of video and that a friendly face can make all the difference. Even if you start out small, tools like Streamhash can help you gather users quickly.

Use Subliminal Advertising:

Momo has also displayed great success in employing subliminal advertising tools, by reaching the user in unlikely places like the grocery store, or the post box. If youre contemplating how to market your brand, a combination of these tools, as well as social media promotion, is an ideal starting point.

Video and novel marketing techniques can steer a business towards new horizons. Try the Momo approach in your business!

The Success Story of Buzzfeed Tasty – Recipes Video Website

The Success Story of Buzzfeed Tasty – Recipes Video Website

In the summer of 2015, Buzzfeed, a social news and entertainment company headquartered in New York introduced a novel Facebook-only cooking platform and named it Tasty. If you’re a social media buff, you’ve probably come across Tasty’s super-short recipe snippets, featuring a pair of hands spiritedly moulding ingredients into the most lip-smacking treats ever.

By September 2016, a year and two months after the launch of the sensational video channel, Tasty had become the third-most viewed video account on Facebook, having garnered close to a whopping 1.7 billion views. And by the last quarter of 2016, the viewership for a single video sat at an average of 22.8 million; no mean feat for a company whose original specialty was spread across a variety of formats. Today, Tasty contributes to more than 37% of total video views on the Buzzfeed network, powering a large part of the Buzzfeed machinery.

How Buzzfeed is Diversifying Through Tasty

Impressive? Very. But there’s more. Tasty’s success story wouldn’t be so inspiring if it weren’t for all the cross-promotion it has delivered for Buzzfeed’s umbrella brands. Buzzfeed isn’t a food brand, it’s a technology brand, and through Tasty’s reach, it has nimbly marketed its other platforms, such as its healthy food network, Goodful, and its DIY network, Nifty. Plus, it has created six regional variants for the Tasty brand for various markets, including Proper Tasty for the UK, Bien Tasty for Spanish audiences and Tasty Miam for French viewers. With all the spinoffs it has created, it has kept the content strategy standard and simple: fast-motion videos featuring hands putting together something wonderful.

Buzzfeed’s Revenue Model

While the marketing sounds great, you’re likely curious about Tasty’s revenue model. Tasty collaborates with brands, creating made-to-order brand elements in a recipe video. It charges advertisers a price to feature at the end of a video and stitches the theme of the brand into the video. Consider this video, that Tasty has made for Bank of America, emphasising the value of savings throughout. This is how Tasty charges advertisers:

Cost to Advertiser = Upfront Fee + Cost Per View (price per view on the videos).

Most publishers on Facebook favour this monetisation model, making it the leading revenue generator for digital publishers.

The barriers to entry in the fast-motion video space are low, despite the technologies that one would need. So, it’s no wonder that a slew of new entrants has tried to plant their flags in the space in recent times.  TipHero, 12 Tomatoes, LittleThings, Cooking Panda, and Get in My Belly, are just some of them.

How Tasty’s Competitors Are Raking In Revenue

Most insta-recipe brands prefer to collaborate with sponsors for branded content on their platform, much like Tasty. Because these brands are driven by volumes, this monetisation strategy works well. Cooking Panda has sealed deals with smaller advertisers like BumbleBee Tuna and Star Fine Foods, which have been renewed at the end of every term. Most platforms believe that maximum money can be made through branded content.

Tastemade is employing branded content as part of a much broader monetisation strategy. It had already tied up with Hyundai for a 14-episode branded series on its platform. It has also established a revenue stream on Instagram by selling product integrations to food and beverage advertisers. It is now considering featuring food and beverage advertisers in its Instagram Stories, although no deals have been signed yet.

Buzzfeed Tasty

How New Entrants In Fast-Motion Video Are Employing Technology

Not all of Tasty’s competitors have taken the same technology route as Buzzfeed. Investing in a stack like Buzzfeed’s would take several months and heavy capital investment. Many video startups prefer to purchase turnkey frameworks that would allow them to get started with their platform in just a few days. Streamhash is a popular option amongst enterprising millennials, kick-starting a video platform in two days flat.

How Upstart Cooking Brands are Differentiating Themselves

A valid question here would be, with the rise of so many upstart overhead cooking video pages, where’s the differentiation? It seems like each brand is melting into the next as you scroll through your Facebook feed. Sound familiar? Brands are realising the need to branch out before the clutter becomes irreversible.

Cooking Panda Is Exploring New Video Formats

Cooking Panda, 80% of whose videos are centred around cooking, is dabbling in alternate formats. For starters, it will launch a cartoon series titled Adventures of Cooking Panda, and a travel show called Wanderlust. And though the popularity of these two new offerings is no patch on the 45-second recipe videos it has become known for, the brand recognises that it needs to try something new.

Twisted’s Travel and Lifestyle Series

In a similar strategy to diversify, a London-headquartered food page called Twisted, is showcasing quirky, out-of-the-box recipes that haven’t been attempted yet. Tastemade, probably Buzzfeed Tasty’s biggest rival, is focusing on travel and lifestyle-related series, and has added Facebook Live as a permanent bullet in its marketing ammunition. Most platforms know that overhead cooking videos will lose steam about a year down the line. And they are exploring alternate ways to captivate audiences.

Differentiation Through Technology

You won’t find a significant difference between the interfaces of LittleThings, Cooking Panda and Buzzfeed Tasty. They’re largely clones of each other, and the only differentiating factor would be the content that they make available for users. Therefore, for upcoming startups, investing in a readymade technology would prove more prudent. With a technology like Streamhash, you’ll avail the same features you’re used to on your favourite video streaming site, and its fluid design will enable your users to consume videos irrespective of the device they are using. Smartphone, tablet, laptop, whatever.

Read – Video Streaming Business Models that Could Make you a Millionaire

Most budding entrepreneurs are torn about the most effective technology they could use. Of course, there are various options in the e-market. If you’re considering technologies for your video platform, it’s always important to have your basics in place. Make sure you have a quick and easy way to upload videos to your site, separate servers for web pages and streaming to reduce redundancy, and a script that is fool-proof. Frameworks like Streamhash already have these features worked into their product.   

How You Can Set Up Your Own Insta-Recipe Platform

The opportunity in fast-motion videos is limitless, because you can localise content to a city-level, and still find a sizeable audience. Food preferences vary every hundred kilometres, and with a localised content strategy, you could expand your network to create multiple channels, each featuring recipes from a different region. Then, there’s language. Notice with the videos on Tasty, there’s always text printed in bold featuring ingredients, thrown in through the video. Tasty has already customised its approach for a handful of world markets, but there are several markets that remain untapped. Asia, for example has not been explored at all. Nor has South America. As an entrepreneur, pick your content format, your market and a turnkey technology. With a localised approach, you can work magic with video anywhere.

You could also look at building layers on your platform. Perhaps you can offer a basic free viewing version and then top that with a premium video layer, that you can monetise through a Pay Per View model. You can also think about introducing live cooking sessions by adding a live streaming feature to your platform. Streamhash allows you to integrate live streaming with the features of a Video on Demand site, so that you can enjoy a variety of video options. Think about pricing these sessions as low as 50 cents, to attract users, as a penetration strategy. You could showcase unusual, fresh-from-home recipes that will create a buzz online.

Cooking Panda

How Effective Technology Powers Buzzfeed Tasty

It’s amazing how Buzzfeed continually produces such immersive video content on its Tasty platforms. Needless to say, its technology stack has an enormous role to play. Tasty’s tech stack is made up of a vast number of technologies, including Apache for its web server, Amazon EC2 for the storage of media files, Django and Backbone.js.

With readymade frameworks, your job of curating your website becomes a whole lot easier. Streamhash, for example, comes with built-in themes that you can apply with the swish of a button. Also, with a ready-to-use framework, much of the backend optimisation has already been done for you. Streamhash’s SEO-optimisation feature and trusty admin panel allow you to get started immediately.

There’s so much you can do in the insta-recipe space, and so much you can innovate.

With the right technology and a localised content approach, replicating Tasty’s entertainment game can lead you to a potential goldmine!

How to Ride India’s Big Video on Demand Wave

How to Ride India’s Big Video on Demand Wave

The sheen and glitter of Netflix’s fanciful offerings aren’t currently tailored for India’s vast regional populations. Aside from the country’s content-guzzling urban dwellers, Netflix hasn’t appeased most Indians. And unless it tweaks its media basket, it likely never will. Add to that, the fact that only about 15% of Indians have access to internet, and not necessarily high-speed internet, and you have yourself a problem.

It’s this gap that Vinay Pillai and Tanay Desai identified. When the idea struck them, both aspiring entrepreneurs were working as consultants for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington D.C., and they knew right away that they had a worthwhile idea. They decided to act on it in the March of 2016. They called their endeavor, Dekkho, meaning watch in Hindi.

The partners started Dekkho as a platform to provide diverse over-the-top content to Indians. In a proposition similar to Netflix and Amazon Prime, Dekkho was designed to let viewers watch, subscribe, share and rate content. When they started, Pillai and Desai knew one thing: that Indian audiences wouldn’t pay for streamed content. And so, they created an advertising-led revenue blueprint that allowed users to view free content. In a YouTube-esque model, the company draws its revenues from advertisers, who broadcast their ads before or during a video. Dekkho works out a fee based on the length of the advertisement. Effectively, you have happy advertisers, happy users and happy content partners. Everybody wins. The founders have hinted, however, that paid content is a possibility in the future. The pair commented that premium content services were viable for products with a superior user experience, content variety and content novelty.

In a country where most citizens do not have access to high-speed internet, Dekkho has a functional solution. The platform offers an offline video facility, and the company insists that the bandwidth consumption is lower than on other media providers.In a bid to win the hearts of Indian viewers, Dekkho has sought to establish partnerships with content providers such as MissMalini, All India Bakchod, Times Group, Sony Music and ScoopWhoop, all media producers that primarily produce content targeted at the youth segment. Dekkho also claims to offer an uncluttered, choice viewing experience.

As Netflix and Amazon Prime, along with an assortment of Indian media players like Reliance Jio, Hungama, Hotstar and YuppTV, take the Indian market head on, Dekkho has its work cut out. But Pillai and Desai have conviction in their brand. The entrepreneurs know that content providers need seasoned aggregators to deliver their content. And with the collective over-the-counter experience that the Dekkho team boasts, the platform would be an ideal choice. Having invested time and effort in gauging the pulse and preferences of the youth in India, Pillai and Desai are confident that Dekkho will soon become the preferred choice for online video content across a range of devices. The brand already reaches out to a whopping 2 million users monthly, a reflection of its expanding reach.

The Video on Demand (VOD) niche in India has seen Netflix and Amazon Prime, amongst other players, plant their flags in the past year. And to differentiate itself, each brand’s approach has been unique. Netflix is closing more local and regional deals, and Amazon Prime has partnered with indigenous authors, writers, directors and producers as it ventures into its own original series. Both Netflix and Amazon Prime are tailoring their content for the Indian market. With competition becoming fierce, the key to growth is locking exclusive long-term partnerships with production companies.While old films are usually covered in these agreements, VOD firms are also clinching deals where they will be able to premier movies on their platform before they hit the television.

In the recent past, there has been a slew of collaborations between production houses and VOD platforms. Hotstar has signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Disney India, to showcase the production house’s movies on its premium variant. Hotstar is growing its international content on Hotstar Premium, while keeping its basic version more local. Similarly, Netflix has partnered with Red Chillies Entertainment (RCE), an Indian entertainment studio owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan. This will give Netflix viewers access to a huge library of RCE films. And taking a cue from local VOD platforms, the brand is producing a local series called ‘Sacred Games’. Amazon Prime is focusing on a diverse array of content, in several languages. The service also promises to feature movies just three weeks after their theatrical release, much before their television premiere. In addition, it has closed exclusive deals with Dharma Productions, Vishesh Films and T-Series, three of India’s top production houses.

If you want to start a business like Netflix, India is a great market to target. In 2016, the smartphone user base in India grew 18% to reach a staggering 300 million users. The global smartphone user base, in comparison, grew only 3%, making India the leading smartphone market in the world. In light of the fact that 46% of videos globally are consumed on mobile handsets, the video streaming business model seems more lucrative than ever.

Netflix employs public clouds such as ec2 and AWS and NoSQL-based persistence solutions like CAP Theorem. The Netflix Cloud Platform forms a layer composed of services, tools, frameworks and technologies that lie on top of ec2/AWS.

As a new business owner, these technologies are obscenely expensive, and for most, unattainable. That’s where technologies like Streamhash come in. Streamhash lets you start your own VOD site in just 2 days, at a reasonable cost. Armed with fantastic features and a responsive design, the product can whip up a fabulous Netflix clone for you. Its fluid design also ensures that users experience the same interface across device sizes and types.

Streamhash is also equipped with a selection of themes that users can apply to personalise their interface. Plus, it has an inbuilt SEO-optimisation feature and a user-friendly admin panel. Streamhash also comes with differential servers to support your site: a Nginx one for video streaming, and an Apache one for web pages. Most importantly, Streamhash is embedded with a noteworthy  turnkey video sharing script that lets users divide  videos into categories instantly.

Streamhash is backed by Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) technology, a free, open source extension module that is linked to the Nginx web server. You’ll find other technologies that do the same thing as RTMP, online. And while they’re all awesome, they’re all expensive. RTMP is a multifaceted, pocket-friendly platform. RTMP also lowers latency, ensuring that content flows seamlessly to even a user with a low bandwidth. A lower latency also facilitates real-time conversations with your viewers, and reduces buffering.

In terms of monetisation, VOD platforms follow a gamut of models. Amazon Prime, for instance, charges an annual subscription fee of Rs. 999, discounted to Rs. 499 as an introductory offer. Netflix has differential pricing models depending on the package that a user picks. Its packages range from Rs. 500 to Rs. 800. Hotstar doesn’t charge for its basic platform, but it does follow a pay-per-click advertising format with its advertisers. It also has a variant called Hotstar Premium, that features primarily international content. For this, it charges Rs. 199 per month with an option to cancel any time. Likewise, Hungama’s monthly subscription is pegged at Rs. 249 per month.

Netflix launched a digital campaign last year called #LifeWithoutNetflix, highlighting the benefits the platform offers. This was followed by more digital ads, featuring some of India’s well-known comedians, which did the rounds on social media. Their campaign for the new year got 3.2 million views in just 6 days. Amazon Prime is employing several arrows in its marketing quiver. Other than digital and social media campaigns, it is trying conventional formats like hoardings, print and television for their regional content launches. Amazon tweaks its strategy depending on the market. Voot, an Indian VOD player owned by Viacom18, leverages television ads on its partner’s channel and saw 20 million downloads in just six months.  

The VOD ecosystem in India isn’t composed only of VOD platforms. With the growing potential it is showing, a spate of complementary services have arrived through various brands. JustWatch, a Berlin-based startup, offers users a search engine to find legal versions of their favourite movies and television shows, online. Using the engine, users can compare content on Netflix, Hotstar, Amazon Prime and Hungama, amongst others.

The Indian market is highly fragmented by language. And this gives rise to immense opportunity to VOD players to bring out a range of content across languages. For example, VOD brand Vuclip, announced the launch of its original production series, titled ‘Originals’, in regional languages. The series will debut in Telugu, followed by other languages. The brand is the first in India to offer VOD content in local languages.

It’s a great time to consider entering the VOD market in India. And with several companies having set a successful trend, there’s proof that there’s money waiting to be made.

The Story of Kickstarter Live – Live Streaming Between Investors and Business Owners

The Story of Kickstarter Live – Live Streaming Between Investors and Business Owners

Who knew that one day, a business owner in the Australian outback would be able to draw an investor from Sub-Saharan Africa, to invest in his enterprise? Who knew that not only would these unlikely parties be bound by a compelling internet platform, but that they would one day, be able to interact virtually for live broadcasts, question-and-answer sessions and even product demonstrations. So what if they were separated by several thousand kilometres and the Indian Ocean?

Thanks to Kickstarter, the online crowdfunding platform that has provided impetus to numerous start-ups across the globe, geographical boundaries have evaporated to produce abundant business opportunities and seamless communication networks. The organisation brings business owners and artists together with potential investors in a bid to provide funding for viable ventures. Since it started, it has witnessed $1.9 billion in pledges from 9.4 million bidders, and it has clocked 257,000 projects.

In November 2016, Kickstarter launched its live streaming platform, Kickstarter Live, an interactive streaming tool that lets users raise funds in real-time. And to help build their newest offering, they turned to Huzza Media Inc, a Vancouver-based firm that specialised in user-led events and live streaming.

Amazingly, Huzza, started by Justin Womersley and Nick Smit, wasn’t started as a platform for burgeoning businesses. Oh, no. It was started as a virtual forum for musicians to reach their fans through live video. Womersley and Smit, both South African émigrés, had originally started Huzza in Silicon Valley. Following Canada’s Startup Visa program that promised business owners permanent residency in Canada if they managed to attract an investment from a venture capitalist, the pair shifted the company’s headquarters to Vancouver. A chance meeting with the CEO of one of Canada’s foremost venture capital firms, and they had landed themselves a deal.

Huzza Live Streaming

Huzza knew it had a winning product, when Womersley and Smit saw the impact that their platform had, pulling the music community closer. The product imparted a sense of personalisation and poignancy, cutting through the cyber clutter that vanilla websites often tend to impose. Live video was the way to go.

Womersley and Smit soon discovered that Huzza’s application was universal. It could work for dancers, entrepreneurs and entertainers just as well. Huzza was an interface, and it was agnostic to who was on either side of it. Womersley and Smit leveraged the opportunity.

Huzza, on its part, has collaborated with a number of crowdfunding platforms in the past, with Patreon, being one of the best-known apart from Kickstarter, of course. Last year, when Kickstarter partnered with Huzza to create Kickstarter Live, hundreds of users sought the new live video feature to create online fan circles that catapulted them to cyber centrestage. But that’s not all. The fact that Huzza allows audiences to explore an artist’s personal space, delve into the creative process and experience what happens before the curtains fall, makes it more exciting. It allows fans to feel like they’re part of the artist’s journey. In turn, creators can garner maximum support in the earliest, most nascent stages of their business. Kickstarter has revealed that on average, a user spends approximately 16 minutes on a stream with its creator. And those users that employ streams profit from a 74% success rate, twice that of businesses with no streams.

Internet platforms, whether for video, news journalism or other media, make it difficult for users to separate fact from positive rhetoric. Live streaming engages users like never before, providing validation that the creator is authentic. It lends genuineness to the process.

In January 2017, Kickstarter witnessed an outlandish campaign on its platform; it was a product called Adoptly. The product, a bizarre mishmash of features inspired by Tinder, was an adoption app that worked just like Tinder. Swipe right for yes, left for no; with only a snapshot of a baby’s face for consideration. The app was a market for babies, a crude way of turning an adoption campaign into a superficial pageant. While the campaign was not eliminated from the Kickstarter platform on ethical grounds, there was scepticism surrounding the campaign, with many raising an eyebrow about its legitimacy. Nobody knew a thing about the creators, and there was no way to know.

Now, close on the heels of the success of Kickstarter Live, Kickstarter has announced the acquisition of Huzza. With this, Huzza becomes Kickstarter’s first office outside the United States. Huzza’s erstwhile company headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, will now become Kickstarter Live’s primary base, where Womersley and Smit will grow their talented team of designers, coders and engineers.

It hasn’t been an easy decision for Huzza to join Kickstarer’s growing empire. While the acquisition certainly celebrates Huzza’s success story, the deal has come with certain conditions. For starters, Huzza has been asked to dissolve its creator-facing platform, one that was tied to the Huzza brand.  Nevertheless, with the Huzza team’s foray into the Kickstarter family, there will be no dearth of opportunities in leading initiatives related to developing the creator interface.

Huzza has set a precedent in one of the biggest acquisitions in the live streaming niche. And yet, there’s still so much potential left. While Kickstarter Live will capture the sentiments of investors and entrepreneurs, there are a multitude of other industries that can be penetrated in a similar way. Think cooking tutorials, beauty tutorials, video exercise guides, live dance lessons. Once you prove that there’s something there, attracting investors will be much easier, and your brand may even be considered for an acquisition. Plus, you can get started in a matter of two days, with Streamhash’s turnkey framework. With Streamhash, you needn’t invest time or money in starting from scratch. They’ve done it all for you. Visit their website at www.streamhash.com to know more.

Kickstarter is following a novel trend led by the likes of Facebook, Periscope and Twitch.tv in the recent past. For crowdfunding, streaming is an effective way to gain the trust of followers. When backers are invited to witness behind-the-scenes goings on, gaining trust becomes a whole lot easier. Thus, potential investors may see a tangible return on investment.

As Huzza pulls its own shutters down and moves into the Kickstarter family, it’s interesting to look back at its journey. From an unlikely start-up that followed its founders from country to country, to a flourishing business that was ultimately acquired by Kickstarter, it has come a long, long way.

If you look at the larger picture, Huzza is a microcosm of the massive online video streaming community. There has been a number of businesses in the past few years that have successfully adopted video streaming as a tool for engagement. For example, Experian, a finance engine, uses live streaming to connect users with experts who give advice on student loans, credit, debt and market risk. And they use the hashtag #creditchat to create online buzz amongst users and non-users alike. LiveList, a virtual performance app allows performers and entertainers to connect with fans around the globe, enabling followers to keep up with events, dates and even local performances.Then there are quirky enterprises that use live streaming to showcase media that hasn’t been ventured into before. The MoonWatcher, for instance, is a platform that plans to launch the world’s first private satellite with a cutting-edge camera, to provide stellar images of the lunar surface. Of course, when it comes to live streaming, you can start anywhere, and the investment is minimal if you opt for a turnkey platform like Streamhash. Every industry has the scope for video streaming; it’s up to you to plug it in.

Did someone say business opportunity?