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The audio-only social application Clubhouse created a huge buzz and became a trendsetter even before achieving global accessibility! Taking a cue from its success, Facebook’s internal R&D group, New Product Experiment (NPE) Team launched an experiment – Hotline – for beta testing in the United States.

The application can best be described as a cross product of Clubhouse and Instagram LIVE. Hotline allows users to communicate to a virtual audience which can, in return, ask questions in the form of text or audio. To add its unique flavour, Facebook decided to allow creators on Hotline to turn on their cameras unlike Clubhouse which is strictly audio-only.

This creates a unique concoction of Clubhouse and Instagram within a new product – Hotline!

According to a report on TechCrunch, US-based real estate investor Nick Huber was the first to publicly try the new product with a live stream. He spoke about investing in real estate as an alternate source of income.

Unlike rival Clubhouse which is meant for casual conversations, Facebook Hotline is a professional platform with added video feature.

“With Hotline, we’re hoping to understand how interactive, live multimedia Q&As can help people learn from experts in areas like professional skills, just as it helps those experts build their businesses,” Facebook said in an official statement.

Hotline’s user interface has almost immediate familiarity with Clubhouse, Twitter Spaces or any other audio-only social networking platforms. However, Facebook’s latest innovation stands out for several unique features.

First of all, Hotline event are always recorded and once finished, the host receives two files – mp3 and mp4 – which can be shared on other platforms like YouTube and Facebook. An audio-only recording can be turned into a podcast as well.

Second, the video enabling feature of Hotline gives it an edge or at least differentiates it from competitors. Currently, only hosts can switch on their videos while the guests are represented by profile pictures and remain audio-only when active. But there is an option for them in the settings to switch on the video – this feature is yet to be made functional.

Third, a list of questions asked by the audience is displayed on top of the screen. People can upvote or downvote these questions as per their choice. They can also react to the questions with emoticons.

However, it is up to the host to pick the questions eventually.

For the initial testing rounds, only Facebook employees will moderate events. They can remove anyone who violates the company’s terms and conditions.

At this stage, anyone with a Twitter account can sign up on Hotline for free and there is no limit on audience size.

Apart from Hotline, Facebook is also testing apps like Super which is entirely video and based on the lines of Cameo.